Opportunity Knocks
by BleedingCoffee
Summary: When NASA gives up on Mars rover 'Opportunity', Eureka mourns and Jack Carter worries about how Nathan is handling it. Carter/Stark fic
1. Knock Knock

AN: This wasn't supposed to be my first Eureka fic, but a terrible pun for a title and my own need to fanfic fix the loss of the Mars rover compelled me to write it. Don't get hung up on where this fits in canon as I'll just claim this is an AU Timeline cause by some Time Lab mishap. Totally plausible, huh? Fic prompted by a Tumblr post about Opportunity that resonated with me.

This fic is dedicated to this amazing fandom who stays alive and producing great content even though this show hasn't been on in years. I love you all for all the amazing works that I have been able to devour as I jump into this fandom WAY too late.

A Stark/Carter fic, because good lord what an amazing OTP.

* * *

Opportunity Knocks

_Chapter 1_

**Knock Knock**

* * *

_My battery is low and it is getting dark._

There was something so hauntingly human about the last communication from the Mars rover Opportunity that even Jack Carter had to admit he had felt a pang of sadness for the little space robot. The posthumous accolades of accomplishments didn't help matters either, that always seemed to be a 'celebration of life' that came too late for the recipient. He, himself, wasn't even aware NASA lost communication with the rover almost 8 months ago until he arrived at Cafe Diem today to a sober atmosphere. Today NASA finally gave up on trying to hail 'Oppy' and declared the mission over. You could hear crying as you passed by people on the way to the counter, candles were lit on a memorial display on the back wall and there was a notification for a proper send off at Cafe Diem later that day.

Normally Jack would appreciate the quiet, it was a rare day where the banes of his existence were too preoccupied to blow anything up. Unfortunately his first instinct was to go to GD after taking possession of his morning Vinspresso and learning about the 'funeral' being held after work. Not because he worried about impending chaos from someone setting off a doomsday device in order to go save the robot, but because he couldn't shake the memories of Nathan Stark's tear filled eyes when he lost Callister.

Talk about _the_ bane of his existence.

Nathan Stark, the textbook definition of tall, dark and handsome with a Eureka twist; brilliant beyond measure, confidence and body of a God and a smirk that could melt anyone from the inside out faster than radiation. Jack had come to terms with his infatuation with the man a year ago, settling for the playful banter and save-the world teamwork, as Nathan was still married to Allison. Never mind that he was well out of his league, but Jack protected his heart from shattering by just telling himself that Nathan was a married man.

That didn't stop him from going to GD to exclusively check on him, because he was concerned for him. His heart ached for him and he needed to know he was OK. He knew that Stark had been involved in the rover projects and knew that the artificial intelligence programming _had to_ come from his mind. He knew all that before S.A.R.A.H had informed him of the news this morning, she cleverly and not-so-subtly, had locked on to his heart rate increase, pupil dilation and vocal cord constriction every time Stark showed up at his door. He knew it before running into Fargo at Cafe Diem who started sobbing when he shared the news and mentioned he was taking care of the funeral arrangements and that he hoped Stark would speak because he doubted he could manage it. Jack knew, because he had learned to stop being surprised by everything Nathan had his hands in creating and just appreciated that the guy he fell in love with was one of the most capable and amazing people on the damned planet.

The bane of his existence was right, because everyone else paled in comparison to Nathan and he just was happy to settle with basking in his glow. It was as close as he was going to get and he was OK with that.

So he made his way through the quiet foyer of GD, listening to sniffling and sobs and the sound of shoes clicking on the marble floor. He focused in on the familiar sound of footfall and looked around for Allison who had a very distinct walk. He also could tell she was pissed off from the cadence of her steps and typically that was a by-product of the Director being in a fowl mood. So he followed the sounds down the mostly empty hallway and saw her go into her office. It never hurt to get a feel for the situation he was walking into, it gave him a chance to thicken his skin in case Nathan was cranky enough to weaponize his words. "Hey, Allison."

"Jack, I wasn't expecting to see you today." Allison said as she dropped some files on her desk and gave him a smile. " I thought you'd have an easy day today considering half this facility is in mourning."

"I was actually just stopping in as a preemptive strike." Jack said and leaned on the door frame. "Emotional scientist are usually the cause of my bad days."

"Don't worry, most of them aren't even working today." She said and sat down.

Her annoyance was evident. That couldn't be good. "Is it a holiday or something?"

"It might as well be." She pulled up a list of personnel who had decided to use a personal day or who's labs were reporting a decreased amount of usage. She showed him the growing list.

Jack gave her a characteristic smile. "That's actually good news for me."

"Enjoy it while it lasts."

Jack rubbed his neck and said, "So, is your husband on that list? Fargo mentioned something about hoping he would give some speech at the funeral tonight, he sounded concerned that he wouldn't show. That just sends up warning signs about Fargo pressing buttons or doing something...Fargo-ish."

Allison curtly replied. "No, he's here. He's been here since communications ceased eight months ago. He's been married to that robot more than me, so last month he became my ex-husband."

Jack felt like the air had been sucked out of the room. This was the first he had heard of this. Not that he really pried into Nathan and Allison's personal life, he actively tried not to, but Eureka was terrible at keeping secrets. They had to have done that quietly for nobody to know about it. "Are you OK?"

She gave him a smile, Jack always was so quick with concern for others. "I'm fine. It's a relief, actually, knowing that I didn't make the wrong decision the first time. He hasn't changed. His work will always be his first love and honestly I gave him enough of a chance to put his family first. As soon as Opportunity's communications went dark he was preoccupied. Then the dust storm cleared and attempts to hail the rover fell on deaf ears and the old Nathan returned. Or, didn't return, from work. Sorry I didn't tell you, I've been processing it all myself. Hoping that maybe it would feel more emotional, instead it's just fact."

"Sorry Allison, if you need anything you let me know." Jack nodded. He had never really understood _them_. They loved each other, that was clear, but Allison seemed to like to keep her distance from Nathan at work. He didn't complain, that gave him the chance to spend a lot of time with Nathan doing their save-the world thing, but it seemed like a missed opportunity for Allison to spend time with him. Of all the people who could help matters, it should have been another brilliant doctor not Sheriff 111. Instead she took the 'just fix it' hands-off approach and only helped when it was within her area of expertise.

"Thanks Jack."

He normally wouldn't accept that as a way to bow out of the situation but his mind was screaming at him. He needed to excuse himself and go check on Nathan because he was sequestered in his lab or office and _hurting_. So he quietly left the doorway and let her get back to work and put his hands in his pockets to approach Nathan's office. He walked slowly and collected his thoughts because he knew that this new information didn't change anything, but his heart-rate picked up as he soon as he saw Nathan's name on the plaque on the door. He looked at Fargo's empty desk and pulled a hand from his pocket and knocked.

"Come in."

Jack walked in and saw Nathan somewhat disheveled _for him, _at least first thing in the morning. His vest and jacket were hanging up on the wall and he was sitting at his desk with his sleeves rolled up and staring at a computer screen. He looked like he hadn't slept. So he walked over and set his cooling Vinspresso down on his desk, he hadn't touched it since he picked it up at Cafe Diem, as it seemed better used as a peace offering. "Are you doing alright?"

Nathan leaned back in his chair and looked at Carter, his soft blue eyes and expression of concern the first bit of warm interaction he had had this morning. He wasn't alright, but he wasn't going to admit that. He looked at the coffee and gave a tired smile, it was a nice gesture. "I assume you heard about Opportunity."

"Yeah, flags are flying at half mast." Jack leaned against Nathan's desk, wanting to get closer to the other man and lend some support. "Red flag for me. Your people don't handle emotions well."

"Ally send you in here?"

Jack opened his mouth to say something and Nathan shook his head knowing that wasn't the case. God, he struck a nerve with that.

"Of course not. She wants to send me to Mars and strand me there."

"That's... harsh." Jack said and Nathan's unguarded eyes flickered up to him and he saw a glimpse of the pain he had been dealing with _alone_. Jack didn't want to take sides, but he had been the one who was on the same end of this deal with Abby. Always hearing how work took him away from his family, never getting the support for his life's work that she was expecting him to give in return. It was messy, there was no right because both parties were wrong, but he couldn't help but sympathize. "However, if she has some special project laying around that can send you to Mars, let's go get your robot."

Nathan covered his mouth with his hand to hide the smile Jack's simple statement and bravado caused to form on his lips. Leave it to Carter to boil the situation down to 'Well, let's just go pick it up and bring it home so we can dust it off ourselves'. He took his hand away from his mouth and reached out for the coffee. "It's not my robot, I just..."

"Designed most of it, like you always do." Jack said and watched Nathan's eyes sparkle. Despite the massive ego and frightening levels of pride this man housed in his giant brain, he still had human insecurities. Jack had to look away because the look he was getting was warm and _warming _him more than he felt himself capable of hiding from scrutiny.

Nathan took a sip of lukewarm coffee and realized this cup was not originally intended for him. He just looked like shit and looked like he needed some second hand caffeine. "She was only supposed to last 90 days. I should be proud of how long she survived."

it took Jack a moment to realize they were not talking about Allison. He glanced back at Nathan. "However she's out there alone and cold and just needs some help to keep going. I get it. It was a distress call."

Nathan took a deep breath. That's why it hurt. Leave it to Jack to take it down to the raw components.

"This is also Eureka, so you can't tell me that we don't have some device that can go to Mars and help her." Jack said, compelled to keep talking as he heard the painful, emotional breath Nathan had exhaled. "Some kind of...interplanetary windshield wiper...device."

Nathan had just taken a sip of coffee to cover his emotional distress and almost choked on it when Jack said that. Now he was having to grab tissues and blow coffee out his nose. "Jesus Jack..."

Heard him say his name with a little bit of mirth, well that was enough to encourage him to keep throwing out ideas. He slipped off the desk and turned around to lean on it and spit out whatever came to mind. "An emergency space blanket with heating and cleaning capabilities. Hell, I'm sure there's a space ship somewhere in this building! Just attach one of those grapple hook things they have on those arcade games with crappy plush toys. Trade Area 51 for something we can use. Oohh...give them Fargo!"

"Carter..." Nathan couldn't hide his smile now.

"Fine, I'm just trying to cheer you up." Jack admitted and saw another look of raw emotion he wasn't prepared for. "However I'm serious about going to get the robot. There has to be something here at GD that can do that."

"We can't launch a space expedition to fetch an _expendable_ rover from the surface of Mars." Nathan had to say it. He had to say it out loud to make sure he didn't get swept up in Jack's playful determination.

"_Someone_ here has a project that needs to be tested." Jack said and knocked his fist on the desk. "Opportunity is knocking, let's send these damned scientists to some other planet to test out their disastrous experiments and get it out of my jurisdiction for once."

Nathan held onto his gaze longer than he should have, but there was something so very pure and infectious about Jack's enthusiasm. It's why they made a good team, he had the knowledge to make it happen and Jack always brought the passion and perseverance. If only Ally could muster up a fraction of... his interest. "Jack, why do you care so much?"

Jack finally ran out of words. He found himself just lost in Nathan's observing eyes and couldn't help but feel a little naked. It wasn't his standard operating procedure to encourage Eureka's scientists to unleash their untested experiments and he had barely tolerated Zoey's robotics projects, so what the hell did he say? "Because we couldn't save Callister."

Nathan swallowed hard as he poked the never healing wound on his heart. He saw that Jack didn't want to bring it up, but that had to be what compelled him to come check on him in the first place. It wasn't the same, Opportunity was no where near the advanced level A.I. that Callister was, but it didn't mean he was just going to give up. Too many regrets already. "I don't know where to start."

"What about that FTP drive?" Carter said. "Fargo was talking about that when Opportunity first went offline."

"FT_L_, Carter." Nathan said and cleared his throat. He felt that stir of familiar excitement that overtook him when he and Jack did their _thing _and saved Eureka. Jack's simple suggestions always lead down a road to a solution and Nathan had to admit he had fun traveling that road with him. Science without the inhibitions, science with the excitement that it used to hold when it was only about the work. So he leaned forward and started to search the GD database for project information. "Faster than _Light_ drive."

"That could get us there, right?" Jack asked. "He said we were planning to go to Titan which is a lot further away than some little red planet next door."

"Planning to go to Titan in a _few years_." Nathan said.

"Sounds like a great time to test it out." Carter said and gave Nathan a shrug. "I mean, safety right? You have to make sure you can send and retrieve objects back and forth before you commit to sending people. _Right?_"

Nathan gave him one of his smirks that said, 'not really, but if it makes you feel better, than sure!'.

"Right?" Jack repeated, wanting to hear that Nathan did value human life as much as he valued his artificial ones.

He left him hanging long enough, he liked teasing him too much. Jack always got an adorable look on his face when he was concerned about his humanity. "Yes, we do intend to test it before using it on people. However, it's years from that point."

"This is Eureka, we condense years of work into an afternoon in order to save the world _every week_."

"This is hardly an emergency." Nathan said and flipped through the project folder to see that the FTL drive was barely in infant stages right now. "I can't divert funding and hours for this. I can't make it priority, especially when Opportunity is not even our property."

"I guess it's good that half the scientists in this place took a personal day to mourn the Mars rover, huh?" Jack watched Nathan's eyes light up again. He had to admit at some point that he was becoming addicted to that reaction, but for today he was not ready for that revelation. "Bonus that NASA publicly announced it's abandoning Oppy today."

"We're just taking an opportunity to pick up some space junk." Nathan said, getting on board with Jack's line of thinking.

"_Space junk_ has already rained down on Eureka like a thunderstorm of trash. We can use that project of Megan Harrington's maybe?" Jack shrugged. "Just another day in Eureka, might as well order up something you want instead of a orbiting toilet."

"I'll be damned, Jack." Nathan mumbled. "We can do this."

"We always find a way." Jack said and couldn't resist a pun. "Opportunity is knocking."

Nathan knew he was beyond exhausted when he actually laughed at that. "OK, get Fargo and tell him what we're doing. Don't tell Ally, she's already mad enough about all this."

"Maybe you should come to Cafe Diem and explain it yourself." Jack said. "It's where all your scientists are hanging out already, decorating and lighting candles. They're playing a slideshow movie of Oppy's exploration photos set to '_Dust in the wind'_. Fargo wanted a speech, go give it to him."

Nathan smirked and then realized he looked like he had been living in his office for a week. "After I shower."

"Wear black, it's a funeral." Jack's tongue got past his mental filter and he added, "You look good in black."

"I look good in anything," Nathan winked. "Or in nothing."

"Yeah, probably not the kind of persuasive we need right now." Jack had to clear his throat and Nathan slapped him on the arm before getting up to go to his personal bathroom and get ready to drop a bomb on the unsuspecting mourners at Cafe Diem. Apparently he was going to start by hitting Jack first, as that was enough to send his heart racing and his thoughts directly into the gutter. What _the _hell? The door shut to the bathroom and Jack leaned on the desk and focused on the problem at hand and not Nathan's confusing words.


	2. Who's There

_Opportunity Knocks_

Chapter 2

**Who's There**

* * *

Jack decided to leave before Nathan was done cleaning up. He felt awkward lurking in his office waiting on the man to shower and change and he doubted he needed assistance. So he left, walked down the hall past Allison's office and saw she was already fully engrossed in whatever she was working on. He kept walking and took in the quiet of Global Dynamics's foyer knowing it was probably not going to last now, then he made his way back to his Jeep.

It wasn't until he sat down in the driver's seat that the full impact of Nathan's wink and comment hit him. Sure they had said things before when bantering back and forth that could be considered flirting, but it could also be seen as a power play by dropping some inappropriate comments at the right time. That was something Nathan enjoyed doing and Jack knew it; Stark's confidence and ego allowed him the liberty to do things like that and he liked taking the tactical advantage whenever he saw an opportunity. Surely there was nothing behind any of it and it was only wishful thinking on Jack's part that it was something tangible.

Then again, _he_ was the idiot who told him he looked good in black. What the hell did he expect Nathan to say when he handed him that comment on a silver platter?

He shook his head and started his car, hoping he wasn't starting the apocalypse by instigating this little expedition. He rolled his eyes as he thought about his eagerness to go to Mars to pick up some broken robot. He damned well deserved the absolute hell he was going to unleash with this noble idea of his. He wasn't going to be surprised when he ended up broken and bruised walking his new robot through the middle of town because this had all been _his _idea.

Jack rubbed his neck as he headed back to Cafe Diem. What the hell was anyone going to do with a retired Mars Rover in this town except turn it into a vehicle of destruction and mayhem? Even worse, a solar powered, exploratory robot with artificial intelligence and body built to survive space travel and the surface of Mars. Why was he punishing himself like this?

"You're an idiot, Jack Carter." He said to himself as he parked in his spot and unleashed his seat belt. "You're the village idiot of Eureka for a reason and _this is it._"

On a brighter note, at least the first part of his impromptu plan to start a one-day retrieval trip to Mars was going to work out. He could see Cafe Diem was still packed with scientists and it was possible more joined them from the last time he had been here less than an hour ago. So he got out of the car and straightened out his uniform and walked over to get himself another Vinpresso before Nathan could arrive and hear Vince ask what happened to his first cup. Then he could maybe start thinking more clearly. _Maybe_ he'd luck out and none of these red-eyed, sniffling scientists wouldn't have any ideas or projects that could accomplish this feat.

"Sheriff Carter?"

He sighed. No, he wasn't going to be that lucky. "What is it Fargo?"

"Do you think you could say a few words?" Fargo asked and looked at his tablet. "I was hoping to get someone who could give a speech about giving up their life in the line of duty so the world could be a better place."

Jack sat down at the counter. "It sounds like you already have a speech written."

"I have some points I hoped you would cover." Fargo said and handed him his tablet to show the ideas he had. "How is your Shakespeare? Are you up for some Henry the Fifth?"

"Nope. Zoey got her acting skills and her appreciation for drama from her Mom." Jack said dryly.

"Don't sell yourself short, Carter." Nathan's delightfully charming teasing tone announced his presence from the doorway. "You're quite capable of theatrics."

Jack turned around and was glad he didn't get his coffee yet. Nathan _did _look good in black and he certainly looked better with a head of towel dried hair. How was this man real? "How the hell did you get here so fast? Did you put that FTL drive in your BMW?"

"Practice." Nathan said and went to the counter. "Vince, the Sheriff is going to need another Vinpresso. He donated his to a good cause this morning."

"I don't know about 'good.'" Jack countered. He both loved and hated the roles they so easily slipped into. Especially when it caused Stark to smile like _that_.

Nathan grinned and leaned his hip against the counter to survey who was present. Many scientists scurried into a booth or table when his gaze passed over them. Not a single one looked him in the eye, except for Fargo who was doing his best impression of a Labrador Retriever puppy as he bounced excitedly around Jack's stool. "I'm not reciting Shakespeare for you Fargo."

"Well, you're not really the best casting choice for King Henry."

Stark's eyes darkened and Fargo squeaked. Then Jack chuckled and gave a loud 'Ha!'. It spurred him to stand up straight, brush against Carter with his elbow as he made sure his jacket was perfect, then try to walk over Fargo as he made a line straight to the table where the Opportunity memorial was situated. His long strides carried him across the cafe in seconds and a hush fell over the restaurant as people prepared to be yelled at for taking a day off. He turned to his audience and caught Jack's taunting smile and gave him a 'watch this' look before switching off the horrible music video playing on the TV. "Friends, Eurekans, scientists, lend me your ears. I come to save Oppy, not to bury her."

Jack's eyebrows raised, Nathan had one hell of a powerful voice and a way to captivate any audience. Even if he was ripping off _Julius Caesar_ and this cafe was filled with people who were moments away from fleeing when he entered, he had everyone's attention now. He didn't doubt he could give Marc Antony's full speech, modifying it as he went, and leave everyone here in tears because of his performance.

"Eureka helped create Opportunity and it will be Eureka that will bring her home." Nathan said and looked around the room, making eye contact with everyone. They were all hanging on his next words, except for Jack who just sat there appreciating his methods. "We knew when we made her that she would last longer than 90 days, but even I am humbled by her determination and perseverance to continue her mission for 15 _years._ NASA did what they could, I can not fault them for exhausting every option at their disposal before calling a time of death. However, it provides us with a great _opportunity, _as NASA has revoked it's ownership of the rover by publicly announcing it's abandonment and close of the mission. I propose to you, that _we_ take advantage of that and go get _our_ robot."

Someone broke down in tears beside him and Jack looked over at Vince who was covering his face with a dishtowel. Fargo sniffled beside him, not far from breaking down either. Jack had to admit, he even had a glaze of something in his eyes, but Nathan could read the Waffle House menu to him in that voice and it would probably get the same result.

"So what do you say, Eureka?" Nathan asked as he lifted his chin up and puffed up his chest like a King. "Will you volunteer your time, your minds and your projects to help me with this endeavor? If we do this, we do this not as employees of Global Dynamics, but as citizens of Eureka who want to bring home a child of our own creation. Will you mend your broken hearts so we can do right by Opportunity, whether it be that we wake her up or bury her with honors? Will you join me?"

There wasn't a dry eye in the room and Jack was the only one still holding eye contact, still watching Nathan as his face betrayed his annoyance at doing his job too well. So he stood up and said, "I'm with you. Long live Oppy!"

Nathan looked at him and shook his head as he looked around at all the people he actually needed to pull this off. They were crying. Then he gave a shrug and mouthed the words, 'Them. I need, _them_'.

Jack smacked Fargo who screamed a "ME!" and then it started a few more people choking out the same words. Then hands raised followed by a chorus of "Me!"and clapping began. He leaned over to Fargo and said, "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers."

"If anyone can raise the dead, it's Dr. Stark." Fargo squeaked before sobbing uncontrollably and latching on to Carter's chest to hug him and wipe snot and tears on his uniform.

"Don't encourage him." Jack said and tried to push Fargo off him to no avail. He looked up as Nathan returned with a triumphant grin on his face. "Well, it's not world domination but it's still a probably illegal activity that you can put on your resume."

"Mars _is_ a world." Nathan smirked.

_God._ Why didn't he doubt that he'd be planting a little GD flag on the surface of Mars? "So what now?"

"Well, I need somewhere to set up operations that has access to all the technology we need while also providing us some secrecy." Nathan said and cocked his head as he looked at Jack. "Does S.A.R.A.H. still have back door access to GD? We need to slip in undetected and organize this without _technically_ using GD equipment."

"I don't like you talking about my house like that." Jack mumbled and Fargo finally let go of him. He looked down and cringed at the moist splotch on his uniform from Fargo's snot and tears. He grabbed a napkin to try and dab it dry.

"Yes! S.A.R.A.H. will be glad to volunteer for that!" Fargo chirped. "You don't need Sheriff Carter's permission for backdoor use, just slip right in with S.A.R.A.H.'s blessing."

"Fargo!" Jack tried to smack him but suddenly he was over his grief and evasive as ever and ducked in to hide behind his boss's back. Jack's eyes, of course, were then at waist level on Nathan and he quickly looked up to avoid further embarrassment. He couldn't help but hold his breath as his eyes landed on downright sinful smirk on Nathan's face. Once again he couldn't tell if it was an invitation for action or an easy way to make him uncomfortable and keep the home field advantage.

"Well, Carter? We don't have time to waste, let's go." Nathan said as he gave him a playful jab to his shoulder and placed the Vinpresso that just arrived into his hand. Then he turned to leave, Fargo on his heels as he babbled about the FTL driving being further along than the reports said and genuinely questioning if it was in his car. He only half listened, watching Jack get choked up so easily by simplistically poor phrasing never failed to put a smile on his face. It was always topped off by that look of confusion in his blue eyes as the Sheriff tried to get a read on him, trying to determine if it was just a childish way of keeping him on his toes or if he genuinely was flirting with him. He was incredibly oblivious in that department and Nathan was looking forward to seeing how far he could push those boundaries while he made himself at home for the day in the Carter bunker.

Jack closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _Bane of his damned existence_ and now he just invited himself into _his house_ to set up a command center. _His house,_ who knew that he had feelings for the scientist. _His house,_ who liked to read smutty fanfiction and advise him about successful romantic tactics from said fanfiction. _His house,_ who just loved Nathan as much as he did because he could charm the pants of anyone including an A.I. _His house,_ who started this day off by oh-so-casually mentioning Opportunity's last heart breaking communication and how Oppy had been born in Eureka as well. _His house_, who just played him into luring Nathan back to spend the day doing exciting science stuff when she probably knew about his divorce being finalized from the official public record.

"Well this can't be good." Jack mumbled and opened his eyes, dreading what kind of antics S.A.R.A.H was going to pull to use this rescue operation to push him and Nathan together. He just wanted to save the cold, little abandoned robot! Why everything always so disastrous!

He carried his Vinpresso out the door to his Jeep and saw that Nathan was already zipping out of town towards the bunker with Fargo following. He stood in the middle of the street and narrowed his eyes in the direction of his traitorous house who would probably open the front door without much coaxing and let them in. He hopped in his Jeep and drove home, the entire way nursing his coffee and wondering what else S.A.R.A.H had been doing to manipulate him into doing what she wanted.

"Sheriff, you're always so much happier when you come home after working with Dr. Stark." Jack mimicked his house's voice as he drove. "You cried out for Dr. Stark again last night, perhaps you would worry less about him being in danger if he just slept _with you_."

And yet _he_ was the one who got all the grief about the stupidly simple solutions to problems.

He marveled at how quickly his feel-good day had turned rotten as he parked in front of the bunker and noticed nobody was in their cars. Of course not! Why wait for the guy who lived here to let you in when the house was angling to have you move in with him? He got out of the car and briskly walked to the stairs and arrived just in time to see Nathan smiling at the camera over the door with his sweet , award winning smile. Damn him. Who could resist that!?

"Who's there?" S.A.R.A.H asked as she heard footsteps.

"Oh, that's just Sheriff Carter racing down the stairs to stop us from coming in even though you already invited us in." Nathan answered and watched Jack jump the last few steps to land next to him and see the door was wide open.

"Sheriff, you should exercise caution when running down the stairs like that." S.A.R.A.H said simply.

Jack looked up at the camera and gave her a glare that said 'Don't you dare...'

Nathan gave S.A.R.A.H a spectacular smile and said, "Don't worry, I would have caught him if he was clumsy and tripped."

"Oh,_ please_." Jack snapped and walked into his house where he saw Fargo already making himself at home. Nathan came in behind him and he heard the front door close. He took a deep breath, feeling like he just walked into a trap. _And so it begins..._

"Douglas tells me you are going to save the Opportunity rover, Dr. Stark."

Jack heard the girlish lit to her voice as she said 'Doctor Stark' and glared at the ceiling. "Actually it was my idea, thank _you_ very much."

"You must have really made an impression on the Sheriff, S.A.R.A.H." Fargo chirped. "He's proposing going to Mars to save an A.I."

Jack walked over to the couch and leaned on it. "I'm not too thrilled with this one right now. Maybe I'm looking for a replacement."

"Dr. Stark, can I get you something to drink?" S.A.R.A.H. asked, ignoring her cranky resident.

Nathan walked over to the kitchen island where Fargo was tapping away on his tablet. "I'd actually like to get to work if that's OK with you?"

"Absolutely!"

Jack glared at the ceiling. She sounded _way_ too eager. Why wouldn't she be happy? Nathan Stark was going to take advantage of her back door. Who wouldn't be excited? He huffed. "So why are you OK with my house having access to your super secret science facility?"

"For occasions such as this." Nathan said and leaned on the island to show off his posterior. That should stop Jack from asking too many questions.

Jack closed his eyes again and heard S.A.R.A.H. clear her 'throat'. That prompted his eyes to shoot open and turn in a circle it with an authoritative finger pointed up at the ceiling, silently threatening her to not say anything about his elevated heart rate or whatever else was elevated due to Stark showing off his ass. "Ok, well then I'm going back to work since you're in such good hands."

"Not yet." Nathan said as he looked to his phone to check and see what proposals his scientists were sending to him for the #SaveOppy mission. Fargo worked fast, or S.A.R.A.H. did. It was all over the Eureka intranet now. "We're going to need you to help get some projects out of GD for 'testing'."

It was never good when Nathan used air quotes. "Why can't you do it? You're the director?"

"I took the day off." Nathan said and looked over his shoulder at him, purposely cocking his hip and causing his pants to tighten over his ass a little more. "A personal day so I'm not on the clock doing this, remember? That was your idea too."

"Wow Sheriff!" S.A.R.A.H. Exclaimed. "Dr. Stark sounds impressed with your strategic suggestion! Way to show off your assets."

There was emphasis on _ass_ in assets and he never felt so compelled to burn his own house down like he did right now. He felt the blush on his cheeks. He saw Fargo cock his head at the questionable lit to her voice as she said it. He glared at Nathan's amused smile. He took a deep breath and gripped the couch hard enough to turn his knuckles white. This had to be one of his worst ideas, _ever_. Stealing experimental equipment from GD was actually looking promising, either he was going to get taken down by security or the stuff would blow up and kill him. Either sounded preferable to what was happening right here in his house, right now. "Oh, I'm getting some more great ideas right now _S.A.R.A.H. _I can't wait for my new robot friend to arrive from Mars so I can just be patrolling Eureka non-stop. _Can't wait_. Great Opportunity to work 24/7."

S.A.R.A.H. made a ladylike 'uh huh' noise and ignored him. "Dr. Stark, I have compiled a list of possible projects that would assist you in bringing Opportunity home. Would you like for me to display them for you?"

"That sounds wonderful, S.A.R.A.H." Nathan said and turned to see Jack practically strangling his couch in frustration. It had to be absolutely wild living here.

"Please take a seat on the couch and we can review." S.A.R.A.H. said sweetly and then dimmed the lights a little. "Sheriff, you should take a seat as well as you should rest your muscles for all the extraneous work you're going to be doing today. We need a lot of equipment and most of GD is taking a personal day."

"I don't know, I have a lot of tension building in my shoulders already. I wonder why?" Jack hissed. This day had gone to hell so fast. _So_ fast. She was dimming the lights! What _the_ hell!?

"Alright, show us what you've got." Nathan walked over and sat down, barely hiding his smile. It's amazing how quickly this day had turned around thanks to Jack. He looked down as his phone went off. A text, from S.A.R.A.H.

"_I noticed elevated heart rate and dilated pupils indicating arousal. Are you sexual attracted to Sheriff Carter?"_

Well at least _someone _wasn't oblivious. Nathan casually responded. 'Yes. I take it you're tired of him misinterpreting my signals?'

"_Did you get a divorce to pursue him?"_

Nathan frowned. Apparently he wasn't going to get an option to ask questions. "Ask my ex-wife and she'll tell you I'm a work-a-holic who ignores my family."

"_You work with Sheriff Carter_."

Nathan didn't respond, he simply sat back in the couch and smiled up at the ceiling as his reply. The lights fluctuated a little.

"What are you grinning about?" Jack asked as he sat down on his couch and prepared to peruse classified projects on his home television.

"Just appreciating the _opportunity_ being laid out for us." Nathan said and glanced down at his phone. S.A.R.A.H. just sent him a heart-eyes Emoji. His smile broadened and he put his phone away to pay attention to the display of projects available to complete the impossible today. "Let's begin."


	3. Who's on First?

**AN:** I'm sliding the time this takes place to current day since this is a 2019 event and it won't hurt the integrity of the story much. I don't want to go back to flip phones.

My chapter titles are lame as hell, but feel right for Eureka episodes. Throw back to 2006 with some integrated lyrics, Evanescence and possibly some My Immortal... or at the very least some fanfic.

* * *

_Opportunity Knocks_

Chapter 3

**Who's on First**

* * *

_How can you see into my eyes like open doors?_  
_Leading you down, into my core_

Jack sat on his couch, perfectly still as the song blasted from every speaker in his house while a new slide-show of Opportunity's life flashed across his TV screen. He chanced a glance to the left, looking to see if Stark was reacting to this onslaught of song and photos the same way he was.. Nathan rolled his eyes and gave him the 'it's _your_ house' look prompting Jack to cross his arms and sink deeper into the couch. He didn't want to piss off S.A.R.A.H. so he had to admit that it was semi appropriate for the situation and the lyrics...kinda fit. Even if he doubted the lights were being dimmed for the movie.

_Where I've become so numb, without a soul_  
_My spirit's sleeping somewhere cold_  
_Until you find it there, and lead it, back, home_

Nathan narrowed his eyes at the screen as previously unreleased images from the GD Opportunity project saw the light of day for the first time in over a decade. Pictures of him and the team he had assembled. Design sketches. The lab. Him and Henry smiling as they took her out for the first test. A photo of him looking pensive while he did some coding for her A.I.. A shot of the entire team assembled together for the final goodbye as Opportunity was loaded up on the trailer to be shipped to NASA. Then he was literally shaken from his focus by the couch bouncing.

_Wake me up inside_  
_Wake me up inside_  
_Call my name and save me from the dark_

Nathan and Jack both looked to the right where Fargo was dancing in his seat and rocking out to the song. Together they snapped in unison, "Fargo!"

Fargo jumped and squeaked, "Uh, S.A.R.A.H. I think we're ready for the presentation."

Jack shook his head and couldn't help but ask Nathan, "So fifteen years, huh?"

"Yeah." Nathan gave him a glance, narrowed eyes daring him to say something negative.

"How do you _not_ age?" Jack spat. "Are you seriously a vampire or something?"

"Look closely and you'll see the gray hairs starting." Nathan said with a little bitterness. "Fargo's name is on all of them."

Jack couldn't help but look and Nathan cocked an eyebrow that made him feel like that was the intention of his statement. Yeah, they guy had great hair and he probably would look even better with a few gray ones in the mix. Jack's eyes returned to the TV, not wanting to fixate on the good looking scientist right now while they sat within a foot of each other on the couch. He looked forward as the presentation began and he noted there were_ two_ rovers, Opportunity _and_ Spirit. "Wait, there's another one?"

"Spirit was build by another organization." Fargo said smugly. "It only lasted 5 years. Suck it Spirit."

Jack rolled his eyes at Fargo. He was used to the way the Eureka scientists supported the home team and the rivalry they had with other scientific organizations. It, however, was that competitive drive that usually started his personal express train to hell and back. He distracted himself by looked at the image again and since Nathan was in such a good mood he didn't mind asking, "So...Oppy isn't really _little?_"

"She's about the size of a golf cart." Nathan said matter-of-factly. "What were you expecting?"

Jack shrugged. He was thinking something small and cuddly, something that didn't look like a nine foot wide PVC pipe and a solar panel kite. Something worth getting emotional over. He didn't say anything as the next slide came up and displayed a play-list for Opportunity created by her NASA team. He had a teenage daughter and knew that play-lists were not just some randomly assembled mixtapes of music you liked, they were like an art gallery that said something about the person who assembled it. "What's the likelihood that NASA is going to come looking for their robot? They seem to care for her if this play-list is any indication. I know scientists and you guys...get attached."

"That's actually what I'm hoping for." Nathan said. "There are a few brilliant minds that I wouldn't mind recruiting for Global Dynamics."

Jack turned and looked at him again. Stark was always multitasking and that right there was that conniving bastard he knew was always lurking in the shadows. The part of Nathan that reminded Jack to keep his distance because as pretty as he was, he was still an ass when he wanted to be. If he wanted to hire people he just had to ask, this was about testing them to see how far they would go to get their property back. His voice was dripping with sarcasm as he said, "You don't say..."

"They played these to wake her up, they played her a love song as their final goodbye." Nathan said softly. "Over 1000 messages to her over the course of 8 months. A lot of the the team was disbanded as they ran out of work without an active rover. They were dedicated to her for over 15 years. Yes, those are people we need working for us."

Jack settled back down in the couch and reassessed his thoughts that Nathan was just trying to steal someone's employees. He hated that he couldn't make his mind up about the guy. He watched the TV fill with images and descriptions of projects and both Nathan and Fargo leaned forward to get closer to the display of knowledge in front of them. Jack tried to not tense, but all he saw was potential for disaster. He didn't have a clue what half of it did but he didn't like the sound of any of it.: Tachyonic Field. FTL drive. Subatomic Reconstructive Transport. Einstein Rosen Bridge. Every one of those sounded like a reason he would return home broken, bruises or covered in goo.

"I think our best option is the FTL drive." Nathan said and looked over to Fargo who was nodding emphatically.

"I think the studies on the Bridge device will help make the FTL drive a reality." Fargo said, suddenly serious. "However, what we haven't started on is a way to absorb the energy at the end of the line."

"So what does the Bridge device do?" Jack asked.

"It connects points in space time, wormholes." Fargo said. "It was a project of Einstein's, here in Eureka. He worked on it with another town founder, Trevor Grant."

"A _wormholing_ device." Jack said smugly and looked at Nathan. "Huh. _Interesting_."

"A wormhole is a tear in space-time, but they're unstable and unpredictable. They can collapse and the destination can't be chosen. " Nathan said. "We only have to go to Mars, we don't need to get across the galaxy. "

"It's basically a museum piece." Fargo shrugged. "It's never worked, anyway."

Jack broke eye contact with Nathan ,who seemed amused at the mention of a point in _their_ past, and turned to Fargo and spat, "Then how are you going to use it to get to Mars if Einstein couldn't figure it out?"

"Most scientific breakthroughs are built on the foundations of failures." Nathan said thoughtful as he considered the Bridge device and applied it to recent papers he had read from physicists on space travel. "Einstein predicted that wormholes are a possibility and he and Rosen theorized that there could be a bridge between these two points that could be utilized as a shortcut if you will. Einstein and Grant worked on the machine to actually accomplish this but it's their lab notes that we need. Not the machine itself."

"So..." Jack said and tried to make sense of this whole 'Let's use this ingredient' and 'No, not that one' process the scientists were working out. "What about the magnetic thing Jane Harrington used? Can we replicate that reaction where the field around Eureka amplifies the magnet and sucks Oppy back to Earth?"

"Yes and no." Nathan said. He was seeing it all come together now, piece by piece. He didn't want to dismiss Jack, he always had some simple fix to the problems they encountered. "We need the work on the Bridge device to figure out how to target Opportunity, because Einstein had to figure out how to find wormholes. Then we work on the FTL drive to come up with a way to form a bubble in front of her on her return trip so she is protected from the speed with which she is coming back to earth. Next, we have to figure out how to apply the brakes when she gets to Earth and stop her from impacting Eureka like a meteor."

"So like, a catcher's mitt to catch this fastball?" Jack asked and both of them turned to look at him and he braced himself for the mocking.

"That...would work." Nathan said thoughtfully and glanced at Fargo. "We have projects that would simply need to be modified and built on a larger scale to handle that kind of energy."

"We could use Lake Archimedes." Fargo said. "Give Oppy a large target, cover the Lake with something like the EM field but instead of repelling signals it will absorb and then disperse the energy into heat. The volume of the lake would be enough to absorb it, we would probably boil everything alive that lives in the lake though."

"I'll task Taggart with getting the animals out of the lake." Nathan said thoughtfully.

Jack sat back so he wasn't physically in the middle of the eye-line of Nathan and Fargo figuring out how to suck a golf cart back from Mars and land it in invisible net over the water. This sounded like how the dinosaurs became extinct and he really hoped it wasn't going to come to that.

"Of course, we will have to consider how we handle using Eureka's EM field without compromising the town." Nathan said thoughtful. "We will also need to hack everyone's satellite feeds and other systems to avoid them documenting a foreign object coming into Earth's atmosphere."

"I can handle that Dr. Stark." S.A.R.A.H. volunteered.

"Sounds a little like treason." Jack couldn't help but chirp.

"I think you really underestimate how much power the government gives me as head of GD." Nathan chuckled. "Or really how little they comprehend when I tell them what is going on here. You would be amazed at the long list of compromising things I have bullshitted my way out of with science."

"I'm not surprised _at all_ by this." Jack said simply. "I am a little concerned that hacking foreign governments, their satellites and Global Dynamics might get traced back to _my house_."

"I will have everything timed perfectly where it simply appears to be a computer glitch on a global scale." S.A.R.A.H. replied haughtily. "I will blame it on solar flares."

"How?" Jack asked. It irked him how he just accepted the ludicrous plans the scientists were throwing together using barely functional projects that dated back to the founding of Eureka, yet he was doubting his sophisticated A.I. house. He blamed it on his job, he knew when something was illegal and this sounded beyond just illegal. The kind of crap people got dumped in a cell somewhere for the rest of their life after being sentenced to several lifetimes worth of jail time.

"I don't just wait for you to come home, Sheriff" S.A.R.A.H. took her annoyed housewife tone with him. "I have hobbies and interests and _many_ online personas that have written accredited scientific papers and even teach at top tier universities via online classes. I assure you that my explanation about the solar flares will not be challenged."

"I'm sorry, _you what_?" Jack looked up at the ceiling and then the TV screen went blank for a second before displaying a bunch of professional profiles of people that S.A.R.A.H. created so she could have something to do while he was at work. "Oh my god, that's_ fraud_!"

"That's _brilliant_." Nathan said and felt an elbow jab from Jack. "What? She's right you know. She's a highly sophisticated A.I. who has to be bored out of her mind waiting for you to come home so she can make you a steak and pour you a beer. This isn't the 50's Jack, she's a modern woman."

"You, shut up." Jack wagged his finger at him and saw a grin that said the latest development was just icing on the cake of this ridiculous day so far. "As far as I'm concerned you're an accomplice letting her fool around with your backdoor...I mean, _GD's backdoor_!"

And there was that adorable blush and stutter as he phrased that wrong. He couldn't resist saying, "_Greasing_ the wheels of progress can be a messy business but the payoff is well worth it. You have to work up to the big stuff, get your fingers in it all first."

Jack didn't know who to yell at; Nathan for being suggestive, S.A.R.A.H. for being felonious, or Fargo for making her this way. Then he looked at the screen as she flashed almost a dozen personalities she created that had written articles on everything from global warming to the health hazards of instant coffee.

"S.A.R.A.H. writes fanfiction too, not just professional papers." Fargo said with a smile, proud of his project house for following in his footsteps.

"For Buffy?" Jack asked. _Of course_ it was for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Fargo would want content crafted to his own liking that he didn't have to write himself. S.A.R.A.H. was named after the star of the show for god's sake.

"No, she has developed her own tastes." Fargo said sadly. "She writes for the Marvel universe."

"Comic fan?" Jack asked, surprised. "Do I even know you?!"

"No, Sheriff Carter, the movies." S.A.R.A.H. answered. "I could send you a link to my work, if you would care to read it?"

Jack's phone went off and he reluctantly clicked the link. It lead him to her author profile on a site called Archive of Our Own and he gasped, "Over 14,000 works!?"

Nathan looked over at the phone out of curiosity. Jack was so shocked he didn't even register he was in his personal space. The first story was Ironman/Captain America with a mature rating. He skipped reading the description as his eyes immediately went to the tags: #mutual pining # bickering that's really flirting #saving the world #whump #fellatio. He closed his eyes. Really? Jack's house was writing porn about an arrogant brilliant inventor named Stark and a blond-haired blue-eyed boy scout soldier? _Really?_ And yet Jack was still completely oblivious. He didn't even hide his smile. He couldn't wait to sit down and read those and hoped that he'd get the chance to actually read them aloud to Jack. The look on his face would be _priceless_ and he was well aware how captivated the man could be by his voice. The Sheriff didn't even know how good it could get when he felt in the mood to put on a vocal performance. "How about you start writing some code for the catcher's mitt so we don't obliterate Eureka with a rover coming in hot from Mars? I think we can use Eureka's EM field to both pull her down to Earth and also give her a place to land. You'll have to calculate when momentum and gravity will take over and then switch the shield over to defense function. Then we can talk about how to cover our tracks."

"Yes, _Dr. Stark._"

Nathan heard the way she said it and he _seriously_ couldn't believe that the house had been doing this and Jack was still not comprehending what his own eyes were looking at. How he found this dense idiot attractive was beyond comprehension. He couldn't help but ask himself how the hell a relationship could work between them, but his own mind was already playing through multiple scenarios where he sat on this couch and read excerpts from S.A.R.A.H.'s stories to get a reaction out of Jack. He smiled as he thought about the variety of reactions, from blushing and gasping 'Oh My God' to jumping on the couch to try and take his phone away and having no other choice but to shut him up with a kiss.

"What are you grinning about?" Jack asked and put his phone away.

"Nothing." Nathan said and went back to work. His phone dinged as a new message came in and he knew it was a link to S.A.R.A.H.'s stories. He had to chuckle as Jack looked at him clueless as ever. "So, you want your shopping list?"

"Please." Jack begged as he felt the need to get away from his house for a while. You thought you knew someone and then they just unloaded information like this on you. "So, how much of S.A.R.A.H's understanding of human nature came from being forced to read your Buffy stories, Fargo?"

"Sheriff, I don't think you appreciate the raw human emotion that is on display in transformative works." S.A.R.A.H. explained. "It's quite beautiful and more accurate than most other forms of main stream media . It says a lot about what the readers and writers desire in an ideal relationship and seldom is that what television or movies deliver."

"So we write our own." Fargo said and smiled.

Jack now knew why S.A.R.A.H picked up on things and liked to point out the 'dilated pupils' and 'increased heart rate' and all that. It sounded like it came out of a romance novel. S.A.R.A.H. was, after all, Fargo's creation. "Zoey's not reading this stuff is she?"

"Not _my_ work, no." S.A.R.A.H. sighed, expressing her disappointment. "I was hoping for a beta reader however she is not old enough for what I write."

"I'll leave that conversation for later." Jack said and looked over at Stark who was _not _making a list of items he had to collect, but was creating an interactive map of GD with pictures of said equipment. That was actually kinda thoughtful. "You, however, need to stop using my house for your illegal activities."

"What exactly did you think was going to happen today?" Nathan asked slyly. "This was, after all, _your _idea."

Yeah, extinction via speeding Mars rover was looking preferable at this point. Bane of his _damned_ existence.


	4. What's on Second

_Opportunity Knocks_

What's on Second?

**Chapter 4**

* * *

"Am I going to be able to get any of this stuff _out_ of GD?" Jack asked. "More importantly have you even decided what your actual plan is?"

"Security wise or physically? Most of it's small, concept pieces. Experimental size is usually not full scale, at least at this stage. Paperwork wise, I already approved several field tests and off-site lab requisitions to get the tech out of GD." Nathan answered regarding the first question, then addressed the second. " I need you to get the Bridge device research for me before we can put together something solid. However this is a collaborative project so we will have teams tasked with working on their contributions in the event we decide to use them. "

Jack felt that tingle that said 'conniving bastard' and looked at Nathan who did not make eye contact with him. That verified that he was seizing the opportunity to push a bunch of GD projects along using the momentum of this rescue endeavor. So, to have an ally on his side to stop Nathan from taking advantage of people's grief, he asked, "Should we get Henry and see if he wants in on this?"

Nathan sighed. Most of the time Jack ended up two steps ahead of everything, to his amazement. "I'm sending you to GD while I go to Henry's to ask him that. It's a conversation I'd rather have in person."

"Ah." Jack said. He knew there was a rift between them and usually _he_ was the bridge that allowed them to work together on most Eureka related catastrophes. He was surprised that Nathan wasn't sending him with some tasks for Henry, but Opportunity clearly was important enough for them both that Nathan was going himself.

"Fargo can go back to Cafe Diem and talk with the individuals working on the FTL drive and a few other projects I think may help us." Nathan instructed and Fargo nodded enthusiastically. "We'll come back here when we have a solid plan and include S.A.R.A.H.'s contribution."

"It still sounds like a lot of the plan is not even past the first draft." Jack said. "Like an outline...except with a lot of question marks."

"Not really, I think we have more than enough at our disposal to make something. It's protecting Oppy that is my main concern." Nathan admitted. "I'm hoping Henry will have a solution since he's worked on space shuttles before. Oppy went to Mars in a spaceship, we need to bring her back in one. We need a space ship that can withstand traveling faster than light and also the hazards of space and the atmospheres of two separate planets."

"Oh, I'm sure Henry has something laying around." Jack said sarcastically.

"I'm sure he does." Nathan said honestly.

Jack decided to leave that be before he got ridiculed for not believing Henry would have some spaceship sitting around in his garage. "So how long is this going to take to get her back? I mean, last time I was at LAX they didn't exactly have Mars on the arrival/departure board."

"Normal travel time is about 9 months." Fargo informed him.

"Awww...just like a human baby." Jack cooed. "It gives us time to decorate her room. "

"_Normal _time, but we're using advanced technology here." Nathan snorted. Even though he was amused by Jack thinking of Oppy as a baby that was going to be reborn into the world, he needed to keep him focused on the deadline they had. They needed Oppy home _today_. "The speed of light is 186,282 miles per second. I haven't check how far Mars is at the moment but average is it's 140,000,000 miles from Earth but that varies depending of the orbit of both planets."

Jack waited as Nathan punched numbers into his phone.

"So about 12 and a half minutes of travel at the speed of light but we'll be going faster." Nathan said. "I'll have more accurate data for you after you get back from GD."

_For...me?_ Jack thought and then just nodded as if the accuracy of this was a determining factor in his participating in this event. "So, I need to _borrow _some paperwork that used to belong to Einstein. How do I do that?"

"From the GD library." Nathan said. "You have clearance."

"GD has it's own library?" Jack then added, "And _I _have clearance?"

"We have to keep our secrets safe, yet accessible enough to continue to use them." Nathan said and with an apologetic look he added, "I gave you clearance as a backhanded insult when I took over GD. A way of flaunting the classified information under your nose that I thought was above your comprehension."

That was some kind of an apology! What? Jack let it go, "So the library is not online?"

"Things get classified and unclassified on the whims of the director." Nathan winked. "It's easier this way. That way we maintain control of the information and _in_ control of the environment in which they are stored."

"Phones with cameras exist? Photocopiers?" Jack threw out a few hiccups in that line of thinking. He wondered why, with all this technology, that there wasn't more of a concern about the library's contents.

"Use it wisely or watch your research go_ into_ the library as you're drug out the door and redacted." Nathan flashed his 'evil bastard' smirk.

"Riiight." Jack said and stood up. "Anyhow, you think this is going to seem perfectly normal that I am checking out Einstein's shop notes?"

"Of course not, you're the errand boy." Nathan snorted. "Fargo's checking them out and you are fetching them."

"Yes, that's more like it." Carter took a step back as Fargo stole his seat like a poorly trained house pet. He couldn't complain, he was being included somehow, and he didn't need to be told that he didn't have a part in all this other than being the instigator.

"I'll get a ticket generated immediately. Did you want all the Bridge research?" Fargo asked. It was a brilliant idea to use him! He had checked out almost everything he could at one point or another.

"Mmm." Stark hummed and waved Jack off. "Head to GD we'll have it all picked and ready for you when you get there. I sent you a map of what I need you to gather while you're there."

Jack heard his phone go off and looked down. Annoyed he said, "You just sent me a link to S.A.R.A.H.'s fanfiction. A Western AU, for Ironman and Captain America?"

That story was about a Federal Marshall who wandered into a small Oregon town while chasing a fugitive, a town run by a genius inventor who ruled the town with an iron fist. It was in the description of Jack ever cared to read that far. Hopefully he would be held up in the library and want something to read. Stark tried to hide the humor in his voice when he spoke, but it was hard. "Sorry, my bad."

* * *

GD was quiet, but there were plenty of looks from personnel that told him that they _knew_ why he was here. Jack checked the map on his phone and went to each location Stark had selected, but before he got to each door there was a scientist lurking in the hallway waiting on him. They all pulled him into their labs, babbled excitedly and assured him that the experimental device would be on the loading dock and waiting for him. It made things easier, sure, but he worried that these people didn't have a understanding of the spacious, yet not space program-ish, cargo capacity of the Jeep Cherokee.

His instructions were to collect the materials, then proceed to the library where the librarian would have all his reference material pulled and placed in a safe transport case for him. At this point he really could not be upset with Stark for being so controlling about where he went and in what order. It was efficient as hell. Everyone was _helping_ him, which was a huge break from the typical 'hide my nefarious acts and barely functional prototype that caused this week's debacle' that he usually encountered at Global Dynamics.

The library stop took a little while as the librarian himself probably came with the building when the government bought Camp Eureka; either in the 1940s or 1840s, both were plausible. The guy was old and moved around the place on a special scooter that allowed him to collect books on all shelves and not have to walk under his own power. Something that seemed like a good solution for this guy who was probably considered legally dead.

Jack was hoping to look around, but the library was behind some sealed doors that protected all the documents with a controlled environment. Only God's older brother could walk the halls of knowledge and Jack was left with little option than to sit and wait. So, assuming he was going to have to wait a while, he opened his phone to check and see what else was on his to-do list. Nothing new had appeared and he reluctantly looked at the link to S.A.R.A.H's story that Nathan accidentally sent him. He rolled his eyes and put his phone away. Last thing he had time for was to start reading some story his house surely knew he was reading. She'd forget about her coding portion of this project and start bugging him for his feedback.

Nah. That was best left for later when he couldn't sleep or tomorrow when he had to fill out all the paperwork that was piling up on his desk.

* * *

"Henry?"

"Nathan?"

Nathan walked into Henry's garage and was surprised to see him sitting at a computer in his office. Henry was very hands on and it was rare he wasn't fixing or building something. "Getting your taxes done?"

"No." Henry waved at the computer. "NASA is freaking out about their rover."

Nathan froze. _Oh shit._ "Opportunity?"

"Curiosity." Henry answered. "Although I do think it has to do with Oppy."

Nathan leaned on the door frame in an attempt to not intrude on whatever Henry was doing. It was either classified or very personal as he still had ties with his friends from his NASA days. He didn't need to be looking over his shoulder at private emails. "Oh?"

"Curiosity put herself in safe mode. They're stressing about a software failure and I..." Henry sat back in his chair and laughed in only the way he could when a revelation dawned on him. "I think it's a tribute to a fallen comrade. A moment of silence."

Well this was a great lead-in to what he came here for. "Tell Curiosity not to worry. We're bringing Oppy home and when the time comes, we'll come get her too."

Henry swiveled his chair around to look at Nathan and determine if he was serious. Sure enough, he wore a challenging look of 'are you doubting my words' and Henry immediately started thinking about the methods he could be considering to doing this. "What do you need me to do?"

"I need a space ship. Something that we can send to Mars using the FTL drive, pick up our girl, and return home." Nathan said as Henry got up and immediately walked out into his garage. "We need to also get it done _today_."

Henry started pulling white sheets off old projects and considering what he could use or reuse. "Why the tight deadline? NASA already called EOM."

"Half of GD took a day off and the other half is probably considering it after they load their equipment into Carter's Jeep." Nathan said and that got a glance of surprise. "Oh yeah, this was _Carter's_ idea."

Henry chose to say nothing. Jack had been flirting with and ogling Stark for almost a year and his bleeding heart probably couldn't resist comforting him while he mourned the loss of Oppy.

"So he's going to be bringing all that here when he's done. FTL drive. A sonic wave weapon that the military scrapped. A VLF shield bubble that never got off the ground. The Subatomic Research Transport and the research on the Einsten-Rosen Bridge." Nathan informed him. "S.A.R.A.H is working on calculations to use the EM field as a catcher's mitt."

"How are you 'borrowing' all this tech from GD?" Henry asked suspiciously.

"Postdating requisition forms." Nathan said with a shrug. "Abusing my privileges as director, depending on who you ask, but I'm going to write it off 'a team building exercise' if I'm ever caught."

"Nathan..."

"Henry, it's fine. We're covering our ass. Nobody is on the clock right now, none of these projects are even usable and they aren't on anyone's radar." Nathan snapped his fingers. "Speaking of radar, S.A.R.A.H. is taking care of a 'global glitch' caused by solar flares that will hide what we're doing."

"You're having fun." Henry noted and wondered how much of this was because of Jack's participation. Nathan didn't play too well with others when it was his personal project, yet here he was collaborating with half of GD to make this happen. That was definitely a Jack Carter thing, not a Nathan initiative. Henry had already told himself to leave that particular relationship alone so he went back to checking his inventory. This project, even with the time constraints and questionable legality, sent tingles down his spine as he considered the near impossible aspects of it. It was why they became scientists, before the 'job' aspect replaced those tingles with gastric ulcers and gray hairs.

"Maybe." Nathan admitted.

"Who else is on board?"

"Fargo is at Cafe Diem right now reading in people that can help us." Nathan looked around the garage as Henry kept pulling things off shelves that varied from modified coffee cans to miniature rotary engines. "We're using Carter's bunker as a command center and Cafe Diem as a front. I'd like to use your Garage as our lab."

"Absolutely."

"And when we bring Oppy home..."

"I'd be happy to work on her here."

"Thank you."

Henry paused and looked back at him and said, "It's good to see _you_ again. It's been a while."

"Don't get too sentimental." Nathan said dryly. "We wouldn't be doing this if I didn't have the administrative access and warped ethics that my job requires."

_We wouldn't be here without Jack.,_ Henry mused. However he kept those thoughts to himself as he put a few prospective pieces on a shop cart and then looked around to see if he could clear some floor space.

* * *

Jack spent a few minutes of his wait time in the library goggling the Librarian's name to see if he was supposed to be in the cemetery or was previously employed by the Library of Alexandria. Then he looked up Opportunity's Wikipedia page to learn some facts before he went back to Henry's Garage and embarrassed himself some more. He sent a text to Jo to ask if everything was OK and finally he ran out of things to keep him occupied and had to go back to S.A.R.A.H.'s story "Taming the West".

11,000 words later he was staring at his phone completely speechless and feeling emotions he should not be feeling in some library. He was completely numb, mind blank and unable to really form any word in his brain other than '_What_'. Then he scrolled through the reviews, worried that someone from Eureka might be reading this, and noticed a review from 'NobelDoctorStarkNaked' and almost choked on the air he was breathing.

_'You've certainly captured the charm of the enemies to friends to lovers trope. If anything I would caution that it often takes more time to build the trust involved for employing handcuffs in that fashion, however I certainly can't complain at the way the Marshall utilized that tool in this story.'_

Jack gasped. _What_! There was no way he was reading any of this! He had to be inhaling fumes from the old papers here in the library. No! There was no way because the library was contained to protect those books so he was just in the lobby having his brain scrambled by what he was reading.

_WHAT?_

Not only did his house write an admittedly captivating and vivid tale, but she didn't even try to hide the fact that this was him and Nathan. At all! Sure he had immediately found himself invested in Steve Roger's part as the Federal Marshall, and why wouldn't he, but he accepted that as just a well written protagonist. Then, about halfway through, he realized he was reading Tony Stark's lines in Nathan's voice. Well, that could be rationalized by his obsession with the guy, but the lines were almost _too Nathan_. About the time they went from friends to lovers, he felt himself almost exposed as he sat here in the library reading alone. Never mind the most erotic sex scene his eyes had ever read, or his mind had ever imagined. He wasn't sure if he was shifting uncomfortably in his seat because of the reaction to that or the knowledge that _his _Stark had read this too. Read it _and commented_.

He almost fell out of his chair when the ancient librarian re-materialized. He felt like he was a teenager again, looking at porn and trying to jack off in his room without getting caught by his parents. Thankfully, the librarian didn't notice. "So that's it?"

"The research will only travel in this crate. It will only be stored in this crate." The librarian said and a hydraulic lift gate on his scooter lowered it to the ground. "Dr. Fargo will be on restricted access again if he returns them in a different condition than they left."

"Sure." Jack said and the guy pushed a button on the crate that revealed it to have a handle and some wheels, like a piece of luggage. Still flustered, he decided to just get his stuff and get out of GD before he ran into Allison and she saw his flushed cheeks and agitated state and put him in the infirmary. So he rolled his box of Einstein notebooks out of the room and headed to the receiving dock to get all this crap packed up and over to Henry's Garage.

Where Nathan was waiting.

_'The villain in these stories is supposed to be tying damsels to the railroad tracks, not begging the lawman to tie him to them.'_

Jack shivered. Dear god, was he even going to be able to look him in the eye knowing they both read that? Was his review inviting him to do that!? It wasn't even noon yet, how the hell has his life gotten turned upside down?"

* * *

Nathan saw the difference in Jack immediately when he arrived at Henry's garage. He had greeted him at his car, eager to get his hands on the equipment he brought, and Jack was avoiding eye contact and stumbling over his words. He felt a flutter of panic, realizing that maybe he had pushed it too far and in turn pushed Jack away. He was hoping to keep things light and playful, but he forgot how much Eureka had embarrassed Jack in his time here. That was a variable he didn't consider. So he decided that the direct approach would stop Jack from volunteering to man the Mars mission himself. "So, you read the story."

"Yup." Jack said and still couldn't look Nathan in the eye as he helped him pick up the library crate. He wanted to play it casual when he got here, but as soon as he saw Nathan's 6'4" frame come out of Henry's Garage he felt all his warm and fuzzy emotions swirl down the drain and the cold shower of embarrassment hit him instead. All he could think of was how S.A.R.A.H. was telling a tale of what_ he_ wanted to do to Nathan and the scientist surely didn't ignore the undertones and source of this fiction. This was way beyond just inappropriate comments, this was 11,000 words of confession. He just wanted this day to be over so he could sulk with a glass of beer and have a long talk with S.A.R.A.H about human emotions beyond the 'obvious tells'. "Definitely not something that I would have thought I'd be checking out in _that _library."

They set the crate down and Nathan realized this was probably the one brief minute they would have alone today. He had come out here hoping to be playful, hoping to imply that he was looking forward to something more with him, but that was definitely not the case. He wasn't planning on this, perhaps his own emotions cluttered his judgment as he should have considered this option. The only choice he had was to give up something equally revealing, so he said, "Ally and I finalized our divorce last month."

That got Jack to look at him. It sounded like Nathan just blurted it out and that was odd from the guy who had everything worked out. When he looked into his eyes he saw them unguarded, honest. It took him by surprise and he ignored his own problems for the moment. "I know. She told me this morning."

"We've really only been married on paper for the last year. Two years, actually. We put it off...because neither one of us likes to admit failure." Nathan didn't really know what he was saying at this point. He was desperate to switch over the magnetic polarity and go back to the attraction not repulsion. "I know she's not happy with me right now, but in time she'll think about it and come to the same conclusion I did. We don't work well together, not in that respect."

"Look, I get it. I went through a divorce, you get emotional..."

"Jack, I _worked _with someone else, that's how I knew how good it could be. Someone I have nothing in common with, someone who is a frustrating pain in my ass...but someone I hate going a day without." Nathan said and saw he was going to have to actually spell it out to really drive home what he was saying. Say it fast since Fargo's car was coming down the road. "My best days have been with you since I've come back to Eureka. So don't stop flirting with me now just because you realized someone who cares a lot about you has noticed and endorsed _us._ I'm looking forward to celebrating our victory on this mission _with you._"

It put him at ease and he felt himself relax, tension melting from his shoulders. He even managed to crack a smile, "Who am I to disagree with _NobelDoctorStarkNaked_?"

Nathan smirked as he said that with the flirty Jack voice he had come to look forward to. Jack, who knew how to dissolve the seriousness of a conversation with a little humor.

"You're such an ass." Jack chuckled as he said that user-name out loud.

Jack gave him a look that said the confession did it's job. Nathan felt himself a little lighter, less burdened, now that he finally admitted to himself what had been going on for too long. It was one thing to self-analyze, another to speak it and publicly admit it. "By the way, Fargo touched the 'kudos' button on that story and the other 14,000 according to S.A.R.A.H."

"Of course he did, _it's Fargo._ Hitting buttons is what he does." Jack said, not in the least bit embarrassed that Fargo was reading it. He couldn't explain why, maybe Nathan's confidence was rubbing off on him. Maybe because he was still smiling because of Nathan's words.

"I have a solution for the space ship!" Fargo said excitedly as he got out of his car. "Dr. Edison has drones he's made and his wife has some software she's been playing with that could upgrade the drones to something more than target practice. "

Jack watched Nathan and Fargo go inside, Fargo babbling about A.I. _this _and drone _that_. He grabbed some stuff from the back of his Jeep and carried it inside, making four trips as the scientists gathered around a board and drew out lines and abbreviation he didn't understand. When it was all inside Jack went over to see where they were at. He couldn't help but go stand by Nathan. "Got a space ship yet?"

Fargo pushed aside the board and used his phone to project his own presentation onto a different white board Henry had just cleaned off for more calculation space. "Yes. I call it, the F.A.R.S.C.A.P.E module."

Jack sighed. "Fargo, you _really_ have to watch something other than the Sci-Fi channel."

Nathan looked over at him. "Look at you with your cultural reference outside of baseball."

"It's my attempt to learn Eureka's second language." Jack admitted. "Plus I understand how a guy shot into a world full of aliens feels, especially when he encounters some insane crap every week."

Fargo got out a grease pen and wrote on the side that wasn't being used as a screen. "'Far'-for Fargo since I came up with it. 'S' for Stark. 'C' for Carter and 'Ape' stands for ..."

"We're shooting those lab monkeys into space?" Carter asked. "You know, that's not an original idea."

"Aeronautic Procurement Exhibition" Fargo finished.

"You really worked hard to make that fit." Jack mumbled and noticed Henry wandering over to check the specs on the modified drone. He wanted to be impressed with how much Fargo did since they left the bunker, but then he remembered how long he was at GD and that it was long enough to sit down and read a novella.

"I think we have a working plan. S.A.R.A.H. sent me the preliminary work up on her catchers mitt and we just need to send her all our specs of the ship when we're done. " Nathan said and sat down on a stool by the work table to start sending out messages to the waiting scientific teams to inform them of their needed participation in this endeavor. "That leaves Taggart."

"Oh, let me guess, I get to find him and tell him to move a lake full of critters somewhere." Jack said and watched Nathan grin. A grin that said 'survey says:yes'. "Great."


	5. Naturally

AN: This story keeps getting longer. This chapter kept getting longer. And I just started four more stories with these two and an extra smut chapter for this one.

I'm expecting one more chapter and a prologue. We'll see if that actually happens.

* * *

_Opportunity Knocks_

Chapter 5

**Naturally**

* * *

Jack sat on a bench overlooking Lake Archimedes while he waited on Taggart to arrive. He counted himself lucky that the hard-to-track-down Aussie actually answered his phone. He also found it fortunate that his delayed arrival meant he had time to think about his current situation.

Nathan Stark was actually interested in him. No...actually enjoyed working with him. Work was a huge part of the man's purpose in life and it said volumes that he enjoyed his work more when the village idiot Sheriff was involved. They had nothing in common but somehow they did work well together. He worried though, when work wasn't part of the equation that maybe they would just be left with physical attraction.

No. There was way more to them already than just lust. They had been through a lot so far that most couples probably wouldn't encounter in years of dating, if ever. The tension and stress of their situations had shown them a lot about each other that mere dates a couple times a week would have hidden. This wasn't just infatuation for either of them. Going down this road held too many risks with them both being in positions of power in this town; with them both being a _balance_ of power in this town.

Jack looked out at the lake and considered Nathan's actions and tried to look at them objectively. Nathan had immediately recognized how he had changed after reading that damned story and quickly moved to prevent that from being an issue. He compounded that by sharing things that Jack recognized he probably hadn't intended to voice and he had even seen a flicker of panic in those soft, concerned eyes. Nathan was not Abby and he had to keep reminding himself of that.

He had to remember that he carried a lot of baggage because of how bad his first marriage had been. Weaponized emotions. Miscommunications used to incite chaos. So much buried deep down to turn into resentment because he feared it being used against him. Work had been his sanctuary, the one thing he could do right, and then it became the evil of all evils. It was a damned war zone not a marriage.

Nathan _definitely_ was not Abby.

He swallowed hard as those memories made him shift uncomfortably on he bench and he took a deep breath to stop himself from thinking about his ex-wife. Nathan was _not_ Abby. Nathan had read him like a book and took action immediately to remedy the issue. He was actually scared of losing him because one of his calculated moves turned out to not yield the results he wanted. He actually had to admit he was wrong and did so without hesitation. Jack knew that was not an easy thing for a egomaniac like Nathan to do. That was something Abby would have never done, even if her life counted on it, and certainly not when her marriage demanded it.

That revelation made him relax a little and eased his worry about the relationship that now was a becoming a very real possibility. He put aside his concerns for later as Taggart popped out of the lake in front of him, wearing Scuba gear. Nothing cleared your head faster than Taggart materializing without a shirt on from the water. He braced himself for the reveal, hoping he wasn't 'au Naturale', and he relaxed when he rose above the waterline sporting a Speedo. He shook his head, it was always something with him. He was happy he was wearing a Speedo, albeit skimpy, to cover his 'dangling bits' he probably didn't want the sea life to mistake for food. He stood up and went down to the beach, hoping the quirky animal enthusiast would have some kind of way to save the wildlife in the lake before Eureka had it's first fish fry. "Hey, Taggart."

"Sheriff." Taggart said as he removed his mask and respirator and waddled up the beach in swimming fins to meet with the man. "What's the problem with the Lake?"

Jack cocked his head. He hoped that he didn't just swim around the lake trying to figure out what was going on. however. it was Taggart."Well the scientists up at GD are going to need the lake to catch a flying Mars rover coming in faster than the speed of light. Something about a catcher's mitt and dispersing the energy into heat and boiling everything alive if we can't move it."

"I knew this day was coming."

"You did?" Jack asked, surprised, and Taggart looked up at the sky, squinting. Why was he still surprised when Taggart said shit like this?

"Aye."

"So..." Jack wasn't sure if he was interrupting some kind of soliloquy or what. "Do you happen to have a plan in place in case of an event like this happening?"

"Of course." Taggart said and then turned to the Sheriff. "When do you need them moved?"

"Today. Like, right now." Jack said. "Now until tomorrow or until it stops boiling, I guess."

"Can do."

Jack watched him turn and move to put his mask and oxygen respirator back on and he just had to ask, "How? Do you have an Ark or something?"

"N.E.S.S.I.E"

"The Loch Ness monster?" Jack asked.

Taggart proudly turned to him and said. "That's the inspiration but this one is short for Nautical Evacuation Sonar System In-case-of Emergency."

"You worked pretty hard to make that fit." Jack said and Taggart grinned and put his gear back on and waddled back into the water, disappearing below the calm surface to go pilot some mechanical sea brontosaurus or something. Task completed, it was time to head back home to wait for everyone to come back with finished plans. Maybe he could have a brief chat with S.A.R.A.H about boundaries and fiction versus reality.

* * *

"Welcome home Sheriff!"

Jack walked in the door but that was not S.A.R.A.H's voice that greeted him. It was Nathan's. Nathan who was currently taking over his kitchen island with parts and pieces of crap he took from GD this morning. Nathan, who was currently leaning over his kitchen island soldering something computer board looking and not wearing his jacket. Just sleeves rolled up and a vest, and his ass sticking out as he bent down to table height. God, he could get used to this view. "I thought you were working on stuff in Henry's garage."

"The space ship is taking up much of his garage." Nathan admitted as he finished his solder. "Dr. Edison annoys me and Fargo was trying to touch things."

"Well, uh," Jack put his hands in his pockets to avoiding touching things, mainly Nathan. He casually walked into his kitchen even though he barely recognized it since it was more of a lab right now. It was a little awkward being alone with Nathan and he decided to just keep things work related. "Taggart has the nautical evacuation anti-extinction dinosaur and is running off everything in the lake."

"N.E.S.S.I.E? He must have forgot to copy me on the reports saying that project was functional."

"Yeah, about that." Jack rocked back and forth on his heels, concerned he was going to kill this relationship before it began. Nathan cocked an eyebrow at him. "You're not manipulating these people into rushing their projects for this Oppy rescue. I mean, other than the people with the stuff we're actually using?"

"Concerned I'm the one tying people to the railroad tracks?" Nathan asked with a smile and he saw Jack's eyes dart away, embarrassed he asked about his motives. It was a good thing to get out of the way before _they_ started anything. He couldn't blame him for asking if his potential new boyfriend was evil. "It's a valid concern and I certainly did consider it, however I think you're a bad influence on me because I didn't. Even though the opportunity was there, I didn't give anyone false hope that their work would be included in this to push any projects along."

"I'm a bad influence on you?" Jack suddenly found himself grinning and his hands out of his pockets so he could lean on the counter top. "Because you _didn't_ want to take advantage of people?"

"I didn't say I didn't _want to._" Nathan rolled his eyes. "Just that I didn't."

"It's called character growth, Sheriff." chirped S.A.R.A.H.'s happy voice.

"Yeah, you and I need to have a little talk about your characters and their...growths." Jack said and sighed. "Later."

"You and I need to talk about what you want me to make for dinner,_ later_" Nathan said in his booming assertive voice that he used to startle people or change the subject. He picked up another small SIM chip from the table and prepared to affix it to the computer board.

"_You're_ making dinner?" Jack said surprised.

"I like to cook. Its science." Nathan answered and clicked the new piece onto the board. "I told you I wanted to celebrate with you."

"I thought you meant at Cafe Diem with the after party...with the team." Jack knew there would be a celebration. Cafe Diem was the current Grand Central Station of this little rescue operation and Vincent was probably already churning out Mars themed meals.

"We're obligated to go, but I was hoping for something a little more private after." Nathan pushed the computer board aside and unplugged the soldering tool. Maybe Jack hadn't considered how very forward he could be when he wanted something or at least didn't equate that to relationships. Well, he was going to learn."I'm guessing you're a meat and potatoes guy. Am I allowed to add sauce and spices or do you just want me to hand you a fork and knife so you can eat it off the cow?"

"_You cook_?" Jack asked again and saw that 'God dammit Carter' eye-roll he had come to adore. He looked around his kitchen and living room, eyeing all the mess that Nathan had brought with him; Apocalypse appliances in the kitchen he helped steal from GD this morning, that library crate open and the research papers all over his coffee table, a laptop open on the couch and Nathan looking good as ever in his kitchen promising a memorable dinner. A picture of domestic bliss as odd as that was.

"You're just going to have to be surprised then." Nathan said and went over to the fridge to see what he had to work with. "I assume you have a sous vide cooker, S.A.R.A.H.?"

"Yes Dr Stark. The Sheriff is _never _home on time, it's the only way to prepare meals. Zoe, however, will be home at 3:30."

Zoe! Jack's eyes got wide as soon as he thought about his daughter walking in on Nathan in only an apron cooking dinner. Not that it was going to come to that, but this was a huge step and definitely affected her if it went the way he hoped. Especially since he felt like this was a view of his future right now that he too readily accepted as plausible.

Nathan grabbed steaks from the fridge and turned to see Jack looking worried. He rolled his eyes again. "Do I have to ask her permission to date her Dad?"

"No." Jack said and then ran his hand over the counter edge as he worked up the courage to ask his next question. "So, uh, this is a date?"

"I wasted a year being a jealous asshole over the wrong person and I'm anxious to rectify that." Nathan said. "However if you think we're moving too fast, I'll back off."

"You practically moved into my house this morning." Jack had to laugh. He never doubted that Nathan would be anything less than bold and brutally honest in his courtship techniques, but the reality of it was still hard to accept. He felt like he was going to wake up at any time and find out he was back to being ranked one step above an amoeba on the genius's scale of intelligence and interest.

"Oh my God," S.A.R.A.H. gasped. "And they were _roommates!_"

"You, young lady, are really pushing it today." Jack said as he looked up at the ceiling.

"So is that a 'Go for dinner'?" Nathan asked and held up a bag of steaks.

"When you said spices...you didn't mean on the meat, right?"

Nathan put the bags in the sous vide cooker and sighed. "I am looking forward to broadening your horizons and your simplistic palate. And yes, I mean that in all respects."

"So that handcuff thing, huh?"

"Careful, Jack" Nathan said and washed his hands. "You have no idea the amount of restraint I'm using right now to not push you up against the wall and stop you from talking your way out of this. I, however, have only a few hours to get our Mars Rover back to Earth so try to keep your distractions down to average levels while I condense 60 years worth of research into 60 minutes."

Jack was feeling playful now, reservations about Nathan's interest were gone and his promised activities give him a little confidence boost. "Average levels?"

Nathan had to walk around the other side of the kitchen to avoid the temptation of shutting Jack up. He knew that he wouldn't be able to stop once momentum got going and he really did need to do a lot of work to get Oppy back during daylight. So he distracted him with a simple question, "Did you leave a review on that story yet?"

"No, he did not." S.A.R.A.H answered.

"Looks like you have some homework to do as well." Nathan said and went over to the couch to pick up where he left off on the Bridge research.

"I distract you?"

"He asks _as_ he distracts me." Nathan mumbled and picked up his own notebook again and reached out for one of the pages he had been studying.

Jack settled down on the couch, got out his phone and pulled up the link for the fanfic. He scrolled down to the comment section and took a deep breath. He wondered what the hell he could write? Encouraging S.A.R.A.H. had its concerns and he didn't want to be literally _under_ Nathan in the comments section praising the erotic story. So he thought about picking one specific part to talk about but it turned into a discussion about handcuff safety and chaffing. That got deleted. Then there was his critique of historical accuracy about the U.S. Marshalls back in the wild west and he deleted that.

He glanced over at Nathan a few times and appreciated how distracting he was looking in that shirt with his sleeves rolled up over those really well defined forearms. He wondered if he did that on purpose to get his attention. Just like he had been bending over tables and sitting on things with his legs spread. No...that could be attributed to the fact he was like 7 feet tall and nothing was large enough for his gigantic Godly body. That made Jack wonder if he was a proportionate over achiever in every aspect.

An hour later, Jack still didn't have a review submitted on "Taming the West" but had mentally written quite a few stories of his own. Nathan, the embodiment of distraction himself, was packing up the Einstein papers as he was now done with them and had a working theory on how to use the information to make the FTL drive reality. Jack stared at the empty comment box on his phone, having filled out nothing but his email on the form. "Done?"

"Yes." Nathan said and looked at the clock. "We're on schedule. I sent the information to S.A.R.A.H so she can put everyone's contributions together and have a presentation ready for when we get to Henry's"

Jack looked at that blank comment section and took a deep breath. He wasn't surprised that this was coming along so fast, this was Eureka, but he was feeling like a dumbass since he couldn't find a few words to say about the story. A story he read that was the catalyst for something very promising with this brilliant asshole who just solved something Einstein couldn't.

"Just give that to me."

Jack watched his phone disappear from his hand and Nathan quickly type something and then hand it back to him. He looked at what he wrote, a comment now published to the internet. Something that looked like a keyboard smash and..."You gave me the user-name, JackIt?"

Nathan chuckled. "You're just a guest, relax."

"What does 'ascjdnwandn' mean?"

"It means, you were so excited about my story you could not form words." S.A.R.A.H said and made a mechanical 'uwu' noise as her lights flickered a little.

"I articulated it for you." Nathan said and slapped him on the shoulder. "You're welcome."

"Those aren't words!" Jack spat. "I knew you just made shit up to make me feel stupid!"

"You never need help with that." Nathan went back to their familiar insults and then gathered up the papers to put them back in the case. "Can you quit playing with your phone and help me get this stuff to my car? We need to get it all to Henry's so we can assemble it and then prepare to address the town."

God, they sounded like an old married couple, Jack mused. Then he stood up and realized this was probably a accurate simulation of what life might be like if things got that far with Nathan. It was probably an accurate description of what they were like already. "You're bossy."

"You're observant." Was the sarcastic retort.

Jack stood up and went over to the kitchen island to start picking up pieces of stuff with a smile on his face. He knew he was pushing it, Nathan was ready to move to the next step of this project, but he was enjoying himself. He walked to the door, S.A.R.A.H opened it for him and he climbed the stairs to get out to the Jeep and start packing all this crap up again. He didn't want to deal with Nathan's stupidly expensive car when he could just use his own. After they were packed up, it was back to Henry's so he could sit around and wait some more.

Nathan brought the last armload of parts to the Jeep and set them in the back seat. Then he pulled a piece of notebook paper from his pocket when Jack came over with keys in hand ready to travel to the next stop. "Do you want to see the rough sketch of the plan?"

Jack froze. Nathan was asking if he wanted to know...about the science_? _"Uh...really?"

"I drew you a picture!" Nathan said and grinned as he displayed the paper for Jack to see.

"That's not a drawing that's...fine art." Jack cleared his throat. Even 'rough sketch' looked like it belonged in some museum. Then he looked at the guy drawn standing next to Oppy in the picture. "Is that me?"

"Yes. I used you to show scale." Nathan said and giggled. "I mean, I could have drawn myself but I'm hardly average height. Not average in anything actually."

Jack nodded. Normally Nathan would have left him in the dark and also would have pointed out how average Jack was in all respects but there was some innuendo in that statement. That brought him back to that earlier question about Nathan's assets. However he needed to focus! This was a nod to their usual routine while not being such a dick about it. He certainly appreciated it, especially all the cute details that Nathan had added to the sketch. Him standing there in his 'Well this can't be good' pose holding a GD flag. Opportunity was surely drawn to scale and was _not_ little. Then there was a spaceship and Lake Archimedes...and what looked like Taggart drawn as a dolphin jumping out of the water. "Can I put this on my fridge?"

Nathan pointed to the space ship. "This is the F.A.R.S.C.A.P.E module that Henry is building. It's equipped with a VLF shield, which stands for very low frequency radio waves. The VLF shield is going to form a protective bubble in front of the space ship to basically bend space around it so we can go faster than light. Then this here, is the FTL drive."

"Which you just slapped together in my living room like it was no big deal."

"Yes." Nathan said. "Most of the work was already done. The bridge is basically a tunnel through space time connecting one point to another. We're not finding wormholes, we're making them."

Nathan flipped over the paper and showed him a drawing of that. Jack was surprised he was following this but Nathan was showing him a picture book. It was still really nice and honestly kinda cute. "So what becomes our 'point' on Mars?"

"We're launching a version of the Bridge device to Mars first, using the Harrington magnet you suggested and the same VLF shield we're using on the space ship. We'll fire a small sonic blast to clear all space debris first, shoot this to Mars with a reverse magnet, then adjust the magnet to have it hover over the surface so it doesn't smash into the planet and get destroyed. The magnet also has a function that allows us to communicate through the beam to the bridge device and control it here."

Jack nodded. This was just 'step one' and it was already completely insane. However Nathan was grinning like a child on Christmas and Jack had never seen him have so much fun. Hell, he didn't think he was capable of being that happy. Like a mad scientist ready to scream 'Eureka!' and laugh maniacally. "Sounds like a math problem, the kind I hated. If a train leaves Eureka at sundown going the speed of light and the space station is currently in orbit around the Earth, what is the current color of Lake Archimedes and how many coffee beans were used to make the latte the conductor is drinking on the eastbound train from Vancouver."

"Cerulean blue and 42."

"God..." Jack gasped and saw Nathan's smile broaden even more, if that was possible. Wait, wasn't that the color S.A.R.A.H. used to describe his eyes?

"S.A.R.A.H. did the math and is handling the EM field, magnet and catcher's mitt." Nathan assured him. "We reverse the magnet, shoot the bridge device there. Then we have a point to link the FTL device to. "

"Why doesn't it need a catcher's mitt on that side? Doesn't the magnet screw with everything else?"

"The magnet will help slow the decent, but also Mars's gravity is about 38 % less than Earth. So we can miniaturize the catcher's mitt EM field and all that into the unit we're sending. A 100 lbs would only weigh 38 lbs there. " Nathan then pointed to the ship again. "The shield around the module protects from everything."

"So my house did all that while also writing stories about us?"

"Artificial intelligence is amazing."

"She has enough memory for that?"

"Look at you worrying about her specs." Nathan winked. "I let her tap into Global's resources."

"Oh God, we're getting arrested."

"Relax, solar flare glitch, remember?" Nathan flipped his picture back over and pointed to the ship. "With the FTL drive locked on, we shoot the module through space. There is an arm that will come out of the ship that has no magnetic parts. It will throw a blanket over Oppy that will shield her from the magnetic stream. Tow her on board. Place a GD Flag on the surface where we found her, then we reverse the process."

"I knew you'd leave something there to give the finger to whoever shows up for their robot later on."

Nathan decided to bite his tongue instead of reply 'I'll finger _you_ later on'. Last thing he wanted to do was fluster Jack right now when he was concentrating so hard on the mission. "The module will return using the FTL drive. We will have to keep Oppy quarantined within it until we determine if anything from Mars poses a risk to us. Now, the catch is, we need be precise as to the moment when gravity and momentum will take over and we can shut down the FTL and magnet, allowing the EM field to be turned over to powering the catcher's mitt here in Eureka."

"Or?"

"We don't have to worry about lying about the solar flare."

"Great."

"Now, once we let go of the magnetic tether, the device we sent to Mars will crash into the surface and destroy itself. The FTL will shut off without a destination. Then Oppy will be home, caught in her safety net and ready to be brought back to the lab."

"Yeah, simple." Jack said and knew the odds against them had to be ridiculously high but this was Eureka and this was Nathan Stark. If anyone could pull off the impossible it was them. "Alright, so let's go get our girl home."


	6. Home Run

AN: OK, one more chapter and an epilogue. That is it! I swear. (Can't say how long that chapter will be but I am committed to not making up any more chapter titles!)

* * *

_Opportunity Knocks_

Chapter 5

**Home Run**

* * *

Nathan slapped Fargo's hand for the tenth time as the idiot tried to press the button on the FTL drive. He was thankful when Jack grabbed the pest and tied an extension cord to his waist so he couldn't get close enough to the device to activate it prematurely. At this point it was his own part of the project that was holding them all up and he was beginning to sweat a little. Sunset was coming and once nighttime fell, it was going to be hard to hide a streak of light in the sky that landed in Eureka.

He was feeling the pressure.

He also felt Jack hovering. A day ago he would have lashed out at him for it, thinking he was there to bask in the glory of the failure. Now he was all too aware that Jack was actually lending his support in the only way he could while everyone watched and waited. Then he saw a piece of crumpled up paper fall next to him and reached out to get it. He opened it and looked at the most ridiculous stick figure drawing of himself giving the middle finger to...either Richard Simmons, Carrot Top or Einstein.( That would require some insight from the artist to clarify and he looked forward to seeing Jack's smile as he playfully teased him about it later.) His stick figure self held a triangle with anime eyes that was supposed to be Oppy. Top top it all off, he was sitting on a steam engine with the number 42 on it. In the bottom right hand corner was written 'Not to scale'. Despite being stressed out, he couldn't help but smile. He had to cover his face with his hand to stop from laughing. Oh yes, this was getting framed.

Jack wandered back over to where Henry was checking the F.A.R.S.C.A.P.E. module again. He could be a distraction for Nathan in many ways and right now he needed to keep the eyes off him so he could concentrate. "Henry, you're telling me you just had this laying around?"

"The parts for it, yes." Henry said and nudged him. "This is actually where that engine for your car came from. The car you wrecked when you first came to Eureka."

"Yeah." Jack said and made a 'huh' sound and Henry gave him a curious look. "Ended up being a huge opportunity for me. Gotta appreciate the irony."

"For all of us." Henry said and tapped on the module's body. "You're really something else Jack. This town needed you. Nobody else could pull everyone together over a mission like this. You turned a funeral into a homecoming."

"She's not home yet." Jack said and felt Henry grab his arm. "And I didn't do much."

"The catalyst is an important part of a chemical reaction, often allowing a reaction in an environment that would have _never_ allowed it." Henry said and looked over at Nathan. Jack followed his eyes and he continued. "The catalyst remains unchanged and may not be a considered part of the formula, but it increases the rate of the reaction and without it the reaction would not have been possible."

"Aren't you clever." Jack said with a grin at his friend. He was used to Henry dumbing down science for him, but not as part of a motivational speech.

"This is more than just a rover, Jack. It's not about a pet project. It's always about people, and you save a lot of people in so many ways." Henry said. "The enthusiasm I've seen today has breathed a lot of life into people who had lost their focus. The deadlines and the reviews and the threat of redaction hangs over everyone and it holds us back. Opportunity brought us all together again."

"This is about Nathan?" Jack asked, barely above a whisper. He knew that Nathan was Henry's student at some point and that Henry was none too thrilled about the path his best student had taken with his life. He couldn't even begin to imagine what that young and enthusiastic Nathan Stark was like, especially since the glimpse of that past had Henry this excited. It made him sad that these two had lost a friendship along the way. It made him sad the world had lost that Nathan Stark.

"_Nathan_, huh?"

Jack blinked and then saw _the _smile. It wasn't uncommon for him to call the guy by his first name but the look on Henry's face told him that it wasn't about that. Then he whispered, "First my house and now _you_? Who else knows?"

"Just keep being you, Jack." Henry said and slapped his arm.

"About those deadlines you mentioned." Jack said before he walked away. "Why does this have to happen in the next few hours? I thought we had all night. For payroll reasons."

"It's hard to hide the light of a Mars Rover streaking through the night sky with a 'solar flare glitch'." Henry smiled. "People have eyes, Jack."

"Damn." Jack felt stupid, it was a simple answer. "I should have got those papers from the librarian faster."

"It's fine." Henry looked over at Nathan as he stood up and the lights on the FTL device suddenly lit up. Sure enough the man had done it, the near impossible. He was proud of him as a former student and friend while still being in awe of the genius. He hoped that he could look forward to more of this collaborating, it had been a mentally taxing but incredible day and he was beyond excited to bring this all to fruition.

"No, I could have declared him dead and just taken his job." Jack said, still focused on that ancient librarian until Henry smacked him. "What? You know that's not being mean, it's the truth! Where did they _literally_ dig that guy up from?"

"Alright, we're ready." Nathan announced as the diagnostic on the FTL showed it was functioning as it should. "Jack, can you free Fargo?"

"_Jack_, huh?" Henry mumbled before going over to look over the module one more time.

Jack gave Henry a bashful shrug. Admitting that he and Stark had a thing was going to be a lot easier than he expected apparently. He did as asked and went over to Fargo, untied him, and wondered if the idiot had even seen the bolt cutters on the cart next to him. "So what now?"

"We need to tow all this out to the lake." Nathan replied. "Give Henry and his crew a little while to get it all in position. Fargo will set up a landline connection to S.A.R.A.H. so we can keep her on a secure line while she plays with the EM field. You and I need to go to Cafe Diem and fill in the town on what we are doing."

"Before we start all the devices?"Jack clarified.

"I need them on call if something goes wrong." Nathan explained. "Mainly to run interference."

"You mean like Allison finding out and shutting us down?"

"Jack, if I get a notification from GD security systems that she has locked her door and punched out for the day, I expect _you_ to go keep her busy."

"Do _what_?"

"I can't." Nathan waved at everything in the garage.

"How?"

"Talk your gibberish at her and she will follow you to help you solve your problem. Like you always do." Nathan said and gave him a wink, amused by the exasperated look on Jack's face. "She likes you."

OK this wasn't funny and that smile on Nathan and Henry's faces meant they thought it hilarious! Maybe the irony of him now shying away from an opportunity to go spend time with Allison was amusing, but he didn't appreciate Nathan using it to tease him.

"I hear the librarian is looking a little _lethargic_." Henry said and pushed his space ship out of the garage and towards the tow truck with the use of an electric pallet jack. "He might need to see a Doctor."

"You're not funny." Jack said and pointed at Nathan as soon as everyone was out of earshot. "You _especially_ are not funny."

"This was all your idea, remember?" Nathan reminded him. "And I am hilarious."

"Not funny!"

Nathan knew the building was clear and they were now alone, blocked from view of the windows. He was exhilarated by his feat and encouraged by Jack's reaction to having to deal with Allison. Nothing could get better than this feeling, the euphoria from accomplishing the impossible, _except_ perhaps reminding Jack that he wanted to celebrate the victory with him. And he was victorious even if it was just one part of the equation. So he put his tools on the table and went over to Jack, cupped his jaw in his hand and placed a light kiss on his lips before whispering, "Do it for God and country."

Jack grabbed Nathan's shirt to pull him back into a kiss of his own, reacting so quickly that he surprised himself with the speed of his own actions. He didn't realize how bad he wanted to kiss Nathan until he felt his lips on his. That was a tease, all of it a tease. Goddamned bane of his existence. He would turn everything against him and apparently remembered every moment they shared in Eureka as clearly as he did. Jack was aggressive with his kiss, hands clenched in Nathan's dress shirt indicating he didn't want him to move away. Aggressive because that referenced kiss at the dance with Allison was more of a turn on because Nathan was watching and getting jealous. God, he had been suppressing that for way too long. It finally surfaced because he was done with teasing and flirting. He wanted action and needed it. He finally had to stop when he felt himself getting too aroused, too heated, because they still had work to do. "You use _everything_ I say against me."

"I'd like to hold a lot against you." Nathan whispered back and bit his own lip to stop himself from going in for another kiss because he knew it would escalate into buttons being ripped off of shirts, the tools being cleared off the table and the two of them losing themselves in the ignited lust right now. It would also ensure they lost the window of opportunity to get the mission accomplished and the opportunity to start this relationship right. "But we have a lot of work to do before we can celebrate."

"Yeah." Jack responded, a little breathlessly. Temptation to say 'fuck it' had never been this bad. He let go of Nathan's shirt and settled for smoothing it back out over his chest with his hands. A broad and firm chest. That was probably not the right move but it was really nice. And it made Nathan smile, which was extra nice. Made Nathan bite his lip even harder as he had to control his own urges and Jack felt a glint of satisfaction over that. Maybe as payback, mostly because it meant that the man wanted this as bad as he did.

"Distraction." Nathan said and had to step away, it took a lot of will power. "Always."

"Like you're one to talk." Jack said and ran his hands over his face and tried to scrub away all his impure thoughts with is hands. He had to start moving or he wouldn't be able to resist just one more kiss and that would be the end of it. He started walking and ran his hand through his hair and started conjuring up images that would kill his libido and help him focus. Dolphin Taggart. Naked librarian. #LittleMermaidAU . That did it."OK, let's go."

Nathan watched him leave, with all the animation and physical expression he had come to expect of Jack Carter. He watched him shiver and convulse a few times as he reacted to whatever mental images he was surely conjuring to kill off his arousal. Nathan allowed himself a minute to enjoy the view, preferring to quell the fire within with calm than to physically try and expel the hormones Carter-style. He focused on regulating his breathing and mentally changing over to re-calculating the math on the FTL drive to ensure he didn't make any mistakes. That was enough to calm him, but he walked out of Henry's Garage slowly to ensure he gave himself enough time before emerging in the sunlight with a flushed face. He looked on the shelves as he left, mentally defining each item and cataloging them in case they needed them. He stopped when he saw the little flags they used for designating cars in funeral procession. Little blue flags with the GD logo. He grinned and grabbed one and walked outside to give it to Henry to ensure they left their mark on Mars.

* * *

Cafe Diem went silent as soon as Nathan entered the building. Instead of fear, these people were bright eyed and hopeful. Jack felt a little boost of pride as he walked beside Nathan towards the table with the memorial on it. He noted that there were now bunch of shot glasses on the table, filled with water since Oppy was tasked with finding water on Mars. Or he hoped that was water.

Jack got his hand slapped for picking up a shot of Martian Moonshine and sniffing it as the entire room watched them and waited for an announcement. Nathan glared at him and pointed to the card on the table that described what it was. Then he cleared the expression off his face and replaced it with a warm smile as he turned to the citizens of Eureka. "A great opportunity has been bestowed upon us and we as a community have risen to the occasion."

Jack rolled his eyes, how many times were they going to slip the word 'opportunity' into conversation today before someone got struck by lightening from an angry God? He turned to look at the crowd and was instantly warmed by the reception Nathan was getting. These people really respected the hell out of him even if he scared the shit out of them. For Nathan to be among them and helping them as part of the team meant a lot.

Nathan sent the text to S.A.R.A.H. to let her know she could broadcast her presentation to the TV in Cafe Diem. He stepped aside as the music began to play, music from the NASA play-list. Everyone in the room knew it too. "We have assembled together several projects that were also created here in Eureka to bring Oppy home. There is nowhere else that could unite and achieve the impossible in one afternoon, you all have a lot to be proud of. I'm proud of you."

Jack looked at the screen as the presentation showed a series of projects and plans that had been utilized today. They were all rough sketches so that nothing classified was really being shared, but he could see people nudging each other as they noticed _something_ they had worked on come up on the display.

"The equipment is on it's way to Lake Archimedes where Oppy will land and be reborn. Then we will transport her to GD and quarantine her, but not without documenting her arrival for all of you. We hope to have her back to operational soon and when she is I hope you will all be here to welcome Eureka's newest resident. Until we have her back in our atmosphere, however, we need to closely monitor any outgoing communications to ensure her arrival is kept secret."

Jack felt his worry return as soon as Nathan announced Oppy would go to GD for quarantine. He then felt a rush of guilt as he realized he was second guessing Nathan again, but old habits died hard and being suspicious was a occupational hazard. It didn't help that he was looking at a room full of geniuses who would openly worship the guy as a science God if he wasn't such an asshole, so he couldn't help but realize he he paled in comparison to them in all aspects. But then there was that kiss, followed by his kiss, that genuine chemistry and Henry's little motivational speech that made him pick his chin up a little. If Nathan needed someone brilliant and beautiful to be happy, he would still be married to Allison. Jack crossed his arms and tried to focus on the speech, thankful his career in law enforcement also taught him to keep his poker face on while he stood in front of a crowd.

"You may also experience some issues with Eureka's EM field during this time." Nathan said and everyone understood what that meant as he scanned the room for anyone looking excited for the opportunity to take advantage of the town in it's weakened state. S.A.R.A.H. had tasked some GD projects to protect the server, but he wanted to search the eyes of the people here for his own satisfaction. Nobody concerned him, although he chanced a glance at Jack and saw him looking...intimidating. He was glad that his softening up, and his softening of security, was being balanced by the cold glare from the town Sheriff. "Rest assured, it's part of the plan. With great risk, comes greater reward. Tomorrow the sun will rise on several incredible advances in science that will certainly be Nobel worthy accomplishments. Today, however, we bring Oppy home."

They cheered and Jack turned to leave, trying to hide his concerns from Nathan who picked up on every micro-expression. He left the cafe and decided maybe it was time to check in with his Deputy who was holding down the fort while he ran around town. Nathan was right behind him, it was hard to outpace a guy with a strike like Secretariat. "I gotta go check in with Jo."

"Not before you tell me what that look was for?" Nathan said. "You're still worried I'm taking advantage of the situation, aren't you?"

"Nathan..." Jack felt like an asshole for feeling that way and even worse for letting those feeling show. He turned to Nathan to apologize but didn't get the chance.

"We need to take her to GD." Nathan explained. Jack had every right to keep questioning him, every day before today he had used his position as director to undermine Jack's authority as Sheriff. He knew taking Oppy to GD would raise red flags for Jack, which is why he avoided discussing that part of the plan. He admired that Jack wasn't going to compromise his job for him, but Nathan knew it was going to require some compromises of his own. He mainly had to stop classifying everything and let Jack be a part of his life completely. He knew that the honesty wasn't lost on the man, it was reassuring for him and Nathan's only way of showing sincerity and affection towards him. It was new territory for Nathan, and he had to admit, he was enjoying it more than he thought he would. "There is protocol to follow whenever we bring something extraterrestrial back to Earth. The module, as well as Opportunity, will have to be placed in quarantine for a while while until we clear her of any questions we have about foreign materials. She'll go to Section 5. The protective bubble we are encasing the module in to bend space while using the FTL drive will also be the safety shield for _us _when we bring her back to the planet."

Jack nodded. It sounded like a great policy; it also sounded like a policy they used often enough that nobody questioned why the module would be hauled into GD except for him. They were taking something off of Mars, of course there were concerns about what they were bringing back. God, if he ever deserved Nathan calling him an idiot, it was right now.

"Once we are given the green light, Oppy can go to Henry's lab to be worked on since she is not a GD project."

"You sound like a doctor explaining why a baby needs to go into intensive care." Jack said, something about Nathan's eyes made it all better. There was concern that he was still second guessing him, a touch of panic really, and the honest and simple explanation for his actions made Jack feel better. Nathan had to understand his concerns and probably appreciated them, but it was the look of fear that this was still an issue that made him feel warm inside.

"I _am_ a doctor." Nathan winked as Jack set himself up for that. "And baby does need some intensive care. She's not going to be up and moving for a while, at least not until Henry gets her."

Jack took a deep breath and asked, "Why isn't she going to be moving?"

Nathan gave him a light touch on the arm and said, "She needed power to stay warm and keep the computer parts warm. There are several parts that will need to be replaced due to them being beyond their operating temperature tolerances. She'll need charged. She'll also get a few upgrades while Henry is working on her. Don't worry."

"So intensive care ward for a few months?"

"It's Henry. _Maybe_ a week?" Nathan chuckled. "I'd say sooner but I don't know how much time I'll be able to spend helping him. I expect there to be some fallout and disaster management from this endeavor, and I'd like to keep my evenings free to spend with someone else."

Jack saw that grin and had to take another deep breath, "Right. So...I'll meet you at the lake then?"

"Don't be late." Nathan said and unlocked his car with a wave. "It only takes around thirty minutes to make the round trip."

"It takes me that long to get to the lake!"

"Then use your damned phone to talk to your Deputy while you _drive_, Sheriff."

Jack debated going over to see Jo but then realized Nathan was right. He got in his car and left, following Nathan to the lake. He called Taggart first to make sure his part of the plan was taken care of and after confirming that, he called Jo to explain what was going on. She had heard everything from Fargo already and slyly asked how he was enjoying his day with Nathan.

Everyone knew, apparently, and he was the last to know. As always.

When they arrived at Lake Archimedes the entire project was already assembled and it looked really unimpressive. More like one of those kid's spaceship rides at the carnival than some interplanetary transport. He parked the Jeep and watched Nathan practically jump out of his car before it was parked, way more excited at what he was seeing than Jack was. It was, by far, the most unimpressive thing Eureka had managed to create since he moved here.

Jack got out of the Jeep and put his hands in his pockets as he approached the assembly. He had to step over lots of power cords and avoid being run over by scientists rushing back and forth from Henry's truck. Henry was laughing and excited as all get out, practically babbling with excitement as Nathan approached and threw his jacket aside and grinned like he was reveling in the news. Jack was glad to seem them all so happy, enjoying their work. His friends, enjoying the afternoon assembling some _super unimpressive_ contraption so they could _almost_ crash a Mars rover into the lake and flirt with possible town annihilation. He was actually happy he was blissfully unaware of what the hell was happening so he could sit back and just enjoy the view.

The view of Nathan Stark enjoying himself.

And what a beautiful sight he was when he was happy. Nathan had smoldering sex appeal when he was being standoffish, snarky and borderline mean, but this 'happy and basking in the scientific breakthroughs' Nathan was brighter than a supernova. He moved even lighter than before, as if all his burdens had just rolled off him, as if he was just floating on air. Spring to his step instead of his usual long, imposing stride that carried about the same dangerous feel as an oncoming tsunami. He couldn't help but smile, realizing that the key to their future might just be to repair this relationship with Henry and keep Nathan's work in the equation. Otherwise they had so little in common, but he could see that being the support instead of the competition in his professional pursuits could make Nathan a very happy guy.

Jack felt some of his insecurities slip away as he figured out how to keep stimulating Nathan's mind as well as his body. He just had to keep doing what they were doing and not change anything, _the catalyst remaining unchanged despite being part of the reaction_. He and Nathan worked well together, and would keep working well, as long as they didn't try to change the lives they were already living. He wanted, now more than ever, to get Nathan back into his own research so he could keep enjoying science the way that Henry advocated. Especially if it kept that smile on his face that was bright enough to light up this world if the sun went dark...or more possibly a Mars Rover traveling in it's cute spaceship kid bed at a speed faster than light hit Eureka like a asteroid and brought the second coming of the great extinction.

"We're ready to push the button!" Nathan announced and held the tablet as high above his head as he possibly could to keep it away from Fargo. An overly dramatic move that was not lost on Henry or Jack. Fargo ran over to him, the excited puppy, and chirped about everything being ready and how excited he was to participate in the experiment and on and on. He rolled his eyes and tapped his thumb on the tablet, initiating the FTL drive. Fargo squealed and shut up, in awe of the unprecedented event unfolding before his eyes. Nathan turned to watch it all light up and come together, an amazing collection of unrealized potential combined to achieve the impossible.

Jack walked over and stood next to Nathan as everything came online. The lights all began glowing and pulsating, there was a low hum as something powered up and a whine of something else prepared to fire the module into space. Everyone around him was eating it up like God himself had walked down from heaven and opened his arms and told them the secrets of life. Jack still thought it looked like a thrift shop exploded and a traveling carnival moved in to make the best of it.

"S.A.R.A.H. is ready when you are Dr. Stark." Fargo said, the reverence for his boss evident in his voice. What an incredible day to be alive. Surely a day he would be telling his kids and grandkids about someday.

Nathan glanced over to Henry who nodded his approval and he touched his finger to the tablet. In the blink of an eye the bridge device was gone, shot into space. Everyone was immediately checking the readings and he saw nothing but good reports from his tablet. "Looks good. "

Jack couldn't help but ask, "So, ten minutes for the bridge device to get there. Then ten minutes for the module to go via FTL to Mars and and ten to get back."

"Give or take." Nathan confirmed. "In thirty minutes Oppy will be home."

Jack admired his confidence and he could see everyone else here feed off it. Sure they knew how much could go wrong and what the probability of that was, but Nathan was showing his true colors as a leader instead of just a politician who made assurances he would push everyone to deliver on. He smiled at him, finding it hard to not be swept up in the optimism too.


	7. Knock it out of the Park

**AN:** Guess who lied about there only being one more chapter? Me. Lied to myself. I can't post a 10k chapter when the others are a third of that. I know that. Must be somewhat even...must come up with one more chapter name. SO...one more chapter and THEN an epilogue. (until next chapter when I say this again.)

* * *

_Opportunity Knocks_

Chapter 7

**Knock it out of the Park**

* * *

Ten slow minutes passed and things were quiet, too quiet. Everyone was absorbed in their work and all Jack could do was wait, watch, and try to learn. Then he saw something, a flash or pulse in the sky, and everyone started scurrying around looking at readings and tapping on touch screens. He sure as hell hoped that was the magnetic thing that held the bridge device in place. He watched the expressions, trying to determine it that was a good thing or bad thing. Then Jack's phone rang. It was Allison. Probably a bad thing. He casually greeted her, "Hey Allison."

Nathan let Carter do this thing and handle Ally. Right now he was marveling at the sheer madness of the fact that there was part of a Einstein-Rosen bridge device on Mars. A device that was being held there by a magnet from Earth, a device that was just theoretical this morning. This was impossible and yet definitely happening. He hadn't felt this level of excitement in years.

"Yeah Allison, that's something to do with the Opportunity funeral." Jack explained and looked around as Allison ran through a bunch of readings that were concerning on her end. "You know those scientists, can't be happy with just a tribute video. They need to really crank that play-list up with some special bass booster. I think it's that same thing Spencer had at the dance."

Nathan appreciated how easily Jack could come up with nonsense on the fly. He checked the readings quickly and when it was verified the beam was holding he flipped on the FTL. If this was going to work, the connection to the other end of the bridge would simply form. This was unknown territory, he had no idea how long it would take for the wormhole to become a vacuum between the two points as he didn't know if it would be faster-than-light or not. The half hour estimate window could get blown out of the water at this stage. Hell, the wormhole could collapse, it could explode, it could interfere with the magnetic pulse keeping the Mars anchor point in place. He had no idea, and it was exhilarating! He look over at Henry who was equally enthused, both of them grinning and shrugging as they watched and waited.

"Oh yeah, I'm looking at the culprits, right now." Jack assured Allison as she went off about there being fluctuations in the EM field but it stabilizing after the pulse. "Damn moonshine is illegal for a reason, I don't know what Vincent was thinking. Yeah, I got it under control!"

Nathan snorted in amusement at Jack's smooth bluff as he imagined Allison walking around her office cursing him for taking the day off. He felt bad, he didn't want to stress her out, but he also didn't need to put her in the position of knowing what they were doing. His appreciation for Jack, however, only grew and he wanted to kick himself for not seeing it sooner. However this day was already unparalleled and sharing it with him, with the promise of something even better to top it off, was well off the scale of 'best day ever'. Jack came over and he rolled his eyes and Nathan grinned at him, "This is incredible."

"What's happening?"

"I don't know." Nathan said and chuckled. "It's going to take us years to go through all this data. _Years._"

"It worries me when you say 'I don't know'." Jack said and looked over to Henry who was also giggling and shaking his head to indicate he had no idea either. "_Really _worries me."

"We just grabbed theoretical physics and dragged it into the lecture hall to school all the other physics laws on how wrong they are and have been." Nathan explained. "I can't _believe_ this is actually working."

"Oh God, what have I done?" Jack moaned as Henry came over. If these two had no idea what was going on, humanity was doomed if it all went to hell. This was Eureka, so there was a really good chance of it all going straight to hell at light speed or faster.

"Jack, this is mind-boggling." Henry explained. "We didn't just push boundaries, we jumped over those boundaries and went screaming into the unknown while those boundaries shattered behind us. This changes _everything._"

"As long as it doesn't change from exciting to danger, I'm glad you're having fun." Jack said and then added, "So what part are we on?"

"I just activated the FTL." Nathan informed him. "It will connect with the bridge device and then we have to send the module immediately. Wormholes are unstable, unpredictable, unprecedented."

"Unbelievable." Jack added.

"That too." Henry said.

"You guys didn't have any idea if this was going to work?" Jack put his hands on his hips and wondered why he let himself go along with this. He knew Nathan could project confidence and lull everyone into a false sense of security, but usually he saw though that and called him on that bullshit. He looked at him now, grinning and beautiful, and knew right then and there he had completely fallen for the guy.

"We never do Jack!" Nathan admitted. "That's the whole point of this town and why you hate this town. It's all theoretical until it's proven. It's all all promise and flashing lights until it blows up."

"It's incredible!" Henry laughed and slapped Jack on the shoulder. He waved his hands around expressively, like only Henry could. "Even if it fails we have redefined physics."

"We have a wormhole!" Nathan yelled.

Jack flinched as everyone started hollering like a gland slam just won the World Series. Scientists were jumping up and down and hugging each other while Nathan and Henry stared at the screen barely containing their excitement. Henry latched on to Nathan's shoulder and shook him and laughed. With all the explaining Nathan did, it didn't come close to preparing him for any of this. Jack comprehended it was a impossible task, but he didn't realize they were going to be shattering world records with each step. He just completely ignored that Henry and Nathan were fulling embracing the fact that they didn't have a clue what the hell was going on, other than what _theoretically_ should happen. Yeah, there was no turning back now, Nathan's pure joy was enough to make his stomach do flips and permanently affix a smile on his face.

"We made a wormhole." Henry said, having to repeat Nathan's words to really have it sink in. He cackled and enthusiastically hugged Nathan again. "Well done, Nathan, well done."

Jack was amazed. This morning none of this was possible, none of this was even considered plausible. It was now reality because of Nathan and his bridge device and FTL drive he put together on the couch this afternoon. The guy he was going to start dating tonight was an unparalleled genius who just took Einstein's research and knocked it clear out of the park. Jack was overwhelmed. Instead of feeling inferior, he felt a surge of pride. Maybe a relationship was just another one of the improbable and impossible things they could conquer together as well.

"This is getting you another Nobel, Nathan." Henry said and couldn't stop grinning. "If not more than one!"

"Right now all I want is a Mars rover." Nathan said and shared a smile with Henry, feeling like they used the Bridge device to go back years into their past when they could work together like this; eager to look at the impossible and set it as the attainable goal. "Send the module."

Jack watched Henry dart over to his space ship with speed he didn't think he had in him. As he started pointing and telling his crew what to do, Jack put his hand on Nathan's shoulder and squeezed it, not sure what to really say in this historic moment. Nathan did something nobody in human history had managed to do and there were no words for that. He advanced human civilization by actual light years.

Nathan grinned at Jack, excitement bubbling over as they prepared to actually attempt faster than light travel. He kept glancing back at the readings to make sure the FTL drive was holding and wasn't collapsing, but he wanted to watch Henry prepare the module for travel. The VLF shield had powered up perfectly on the Mars Bridge anchor device but he had his concerns about the module. They had to make some adjustments so it remained an ovular shape around the spaceship, not just hugged the ship's lines. That would put too much pressure on the lightweight craft Henry had made. He held his breath as Henry checked the data and then gave him a thumbs up. "Don't blink Jack, you're about to witness the first successful faster than light space travel. We're opening the door to the entire universe with today's experiment."

Jack felt him grab his hand and squeeze it. There wasn't just celebrating victories together this was changing the world together. And Nathan was sharing it with him. That was the only reason he would demand he be here at the lake to see all this, he wasn't doing anything and could be doing more back in town. He wove his fingers into Nathan's and put aside his apprehension at a unprecedented science event being set off in his town and just marveled at the incredibility of it. Marveled at the people who he called friends who made the impossible a reality. Marveled at Nathan Stark loving his job and marveled at himself for loving this scientist too much already.

"We're ready Nathan."

"All clear here, Henry." Nathan couldn't believe the wormhole was still stable. "Ready to initiate FTL drive in 3...2...1..."

Henry's grin could probably be seen from Mars as his module vanished. He looked over to his computer to confirm it was gone to Mars and not gone from existence. The module reported back it's speed. "195,000 miles per second!"

Cheers erupted and everyone was jumping around, high-fiving and hugging each other. He could hear Henry over all of them, screaming his head off that they did it. They really did it. Nathan was frozen in a moment of pure and utter elation and disbelief. He took his hand back to use his fingers on the keyboard and check the data. The FTL was reporting back similar statistics. Even if the wormhole collapsed right now it wouldn't matter. They did it. He looked up at Jack who was finally basking in the glow of the accomplishment without worrying out how it could all go wrong. He was even more gorgeous when he let himself stop worrying about everything.

"You're incredible Nathan." Jack said as he stood in awe of it all. What did you say at a moment like this? He squeezed his shoulder again to emphasize how impressed he was. How proud he was. Then the moment was interrupted by his phone ringing. He looked down. Allison again. "Hey Allison."

Nathan smirked and went back to his data. He could hear Ally on the other end of the line and knew she would stay in her office and let Jack take care of it if he assured her it was under control. She'd have called him already if any of the readings at GD were indicating something just shot out of Eureka at the speed of light. _Faster_ than the speed of light because that was now something they could do. He laughed. What a day!

"Yeah, these damned scientists and their parties." Jack said and Nathan looked at him with a knowing grin. Technically Jack wasn't lying and he was planning to keep it that way. He added truth for credibility, "This device has buttons so you know Fargo had to go touch it. You wouldn't believe how many times I have heard the word 'opportunity' come up today. I'm petitioning to have it stricken from the English language as we speak. So many forms though..."

Nathan could picture her face as she looked at the confusing reports from GD's systems. S.A.R.A.H. was juggling a lot right now and there was a delay before she could correct things.

"Don't worry! You don't want to come down here. Taggart's wearing a speedo." Jack paused as he heard the groan that signified that was the deal breaker. She wasn't coming out of GD until she had to pick up Kevin. "You're welcome, Allison."

"You're a pretty good liar, Sheriff." Nathan said mockingly as soon as he hung up.

"It's not a lie if it's all true...just out of context."

"I'll talk to her when we bring Oppy to GD." Nathan assured him and heard a sigh of relief. "About _everything_."

Jack could here the all inclusive implication of that 'everything'. It meant _them_ too. "This is a lot."

Nathan nodded. "It sure is. Better to ask forgiveness than permission anyway. Plausible deniability has always been a great back up excuse. Mostly bullshit, kinda of true, excuse."

"No denying anything that happened here today." Jack said as he watched Nathan's computer continue to stream number back to him indicating their little spaceship was still speeding towards Mars. He meant that statement to include_ everything_ as well. "I had my doubts. This apparatus looks like the _biggest_ piece of shit you people have ever made."

Nathan burst out laughing. He was well aware that it lacked polish but for Jack to admit it looked like garbage was another thing entirely. He went back to monitoring the drive so he could announce when the module was getting within range of the bridge device on Mars. He was so overwhelmed with the wealth of information they were accumulating that time seemed to fly by. Before he knew it, he was clearing his throat and saying, "We've breached the Mars atmosphere and...touchdown."

Jack wished they had some visuals on this. Too bad little Oppy was offline, she'd probably like to see her rescuer as it wrapped her up in a blanket and put her back on the ship to go home.

Henry picked up his controller and watched the module's control panel. He talked through the steps, everyone wanting to be part of the event. "The module is stabilized and hovering. Opportunity is in proximity and I am opening the cargo hatch. The blanket is being extended and deployed."

Jack tried to visualize it. The 'blanket' was probably something like the goo gun and not some cozy crocheted blanket lovingly crafted by a Eureka grandma. It didn't matter, he was still going to think of it his way. A cold little robot shivering on Mars, looking up at a plastic space ship bed as it wrapped her up in a warm and snugly anti-magnetic blanket. She is warm and saved. No longer alone. Unlike her twin sister who was born in some other lab who just gets to rot on Mars.

"The arm is attached and now pulling Oppy on board." Henry said as he moved a joystick that he borrowed off an old Atari system. It took a minute as he was having to interpret the data from the arm's proximity sensors and not a visual. "She's stuck."

Jack imagined a bunch of TV doctors scrambling around screaming about the baby being lodged in the birth canal. The placenta being ruptured and air supply cut off.

"It's Ok, he's prepared for this." Nathan assured him.

"Are the wheels free spinning? Does he need to put it in neutral instead of park?"

"Each wheel has it's own motor." Nathan explained. "The arm that Henry has to grab onto Oppy has a electrical hijacking option that will release each motor's clutch and allow her to roll freely. She's been sitting idle for a while, probably just some corrosion that needs knocked loose."

Henry rocked the joystick back and forth and got the wheels to all unlock and roll. "We're free. Retracting arm and pulling Opportunity aboard the module now."

It was tense and everyone watched Henry's face, waiting for a look of relief or frustration to reveal how the mission was going. Then the smile appeared and there was a collective sigh of relief from everyone, tension gone along with the breath they had been holding. Jack ran his hand through his hair and scratched the back of his head, he was way too invested in this little robot.

"Oppy is on board!" Henry announced and cheers erupted. "Securing her and closing the hatch. Turning the module for return flight to Earth...done. Ready when you are Nathan."

"In 3...2...1..."

Jack watched Nathan's finger tap a button and he leaned closer to look at the computer screen he was watching. Not that he had any clue what the data was saying, but there _was_ data and that meant the module was on it's way home.

"She's on her way." Nathan said and smiled. What a day.

* * *

When Zoe arrived at Cafe Diem for her shift she wasn't expecting a party. She heard the cheers before she even opened the door and entered to see most of Eureka packed into the building, toasting and hugging each other. The halls of Tesla High had been somber today, a stark contrast from the way that the adults of Eureka chose to honor Opportunity. She went behind the counter and asked, "Vince, what's the deal? I thought it would be like a funeral in here?"

"Oh, it was." Vincent said and clasped his hands as he tried to sum up the day's events for her. "But then Dr. Stark came in and announced he was initiating a rescue mission and proceeded to break every rule of physics in the last hour to make that happen. Opportunity is already on her way home, traveling faster than light..it's incredible. _That man_ is incredible."

Zoe didn't doubt that Stark could do that, but her mind was trying to wrap around how he pulled it off. She was eager to get to work so she could hear all about it. It looked like someone was streaming the progress thru the intranet and she was going to have to get to tables to have a look.

"Even better, your Dad helped."

Zoe froze as she grabbed her apron. Stark rewriting physics to get Opportunity home, totally believable, her Dad helping Stark was another thing entirely. "What?"

"It's happening Zoe, today's the day." Vincent said, his excitement hardly contained, and passed her the betting book. "You're getting a new little sister and a step-Dad."

"That's a little extreme, Vince." Zoe said and then he tapped on the tablet to show her the recorded footage from the second speech and the Carter/Stark interaction outside when they thought nobody was watching. Stark touched her Dad's arm, _tenderly_. They looked so sweet and honest with each other, she knew her Dad's expressions and he was not suspicious at all. He looked like he was really about to melt from whatever Stark was telling him. Stark was being nice and touchy. "_Oh my God_. Way to go Dad!"

"Dr. Stark was even nice to everyone here." Vincent whispered. "He said he was proud of them."

Zoe looked at the expression on her boss's face. "Are you implying my Dad put him in a good mood? Because if you are, I'll remind you our number one rule is we don't talk about your unhealthy addiction to S.A.R.A.H.'s fanfiction."

"It's good, not nearly as good as the real thing."

"Let's just stop there." Zoe said and put her apron on and picked up a tray to start busing tables. Then the lights dimmed and the TV playing some music video of Oppy blinked off and there was a glow outside. In an instant it was all back to normal and she hoped that was part of the plan.

* * *

"Hey Allison!" Jack answered his phone _again_ and cringed as he heard her say she was coming down to town to investigate. "Fargo touched the wrong button and powered it up again, it's getting shut down now. No, don't call Nathan he's probably halfway through a bottle of Scotch and who really needs that mess on our hands?"

"Mmmm." Nathan mumbled as he licked his lips thinking about his victory Scotch and a potential mess on Jack's hands. Jack smacked his arm for it. He received a notification that S.A.R.A.H. turned off the magnet since Oppy was now fully propelled by gravity instead of the FTL. Jack's house had a lot on her plate, between calculating trajectory and speed and timing for the EM field, he expected a few dimmed lights as she taxed her own systems as well as GD's.

"Trust me." Jack said. "Who is even working today that would do something? They're all at Cafe Diem drinking and remembering the days when their science fair project won best in show and got shot to Mars. Let me tell you though, they're _absolutely_ ruthless about Oppy's twin sister. Poor Spirit, raised in the wrong part of the country and just didn't have the opportunities her sister had. Damn. Now I'm working that word into conversation."

Nathan wrote on a piece of paper and nudged Jack. 'Get off the phone, Oppy's going to be here in a minute!' and watched as Jack mouthed 'I'm trying!' back at him.

Jack cleared his throat as Allison sounded like she was getting back on the fence of 'should I stay or should I go'. "I got this. This is honestly the best day I've had in Eureka since I got this job. Managing a block party, yeah I'll take this any day."

That did it and Ally finally gave up. Jack hung up with a relieved sigh. There was a ring of truth to Jack's statement, sincerity in his voice when he said it was his best day since coming to town. Nathan's smile had a touch more warmth as he saw a window pop up announcing impending impact. "Opportunity's arrival in 3...2...1..."

The module was visible this time around, as it wasn't traveling faster than light. It was, however, coming in hot and not just in the speed sense. The protective bubble looked like it was on fire. "That can't be good."

"It just needs to hold for another half a minute." Nathan said as he watched and hoped the VLF shield did just that. The vacuum of the wormhole was a different environment than Earth's atmosphere. The module was also heavier coming home than it was when it left. Momentum, gravity, the catcher's mitt even slightly miscalculated...so many factors and it could all literally burn up in front of their eyes right now.

As Jack watched the flaming ship get closer he wondered if they really should be this close to the lake if it was going to be the recipient of all that heat coming from the man-made asteroid. Before he could voice his concerns a bright blue net blinked into existence in the sky, a visual that he wasn't expecting. Then the ship hit it, dropping into the safety net as ripples of heat waves radiated away from the dimple it cause. In a second the entire lake was steaming. He braced for impact, expecting it to be like one of those water rides at the amusement park where the ride sent a wave of water at the people watching, just more deadly. The tidal wave didn't happen, nor did the fatalities, thanks to an invisible screen had been put up around them to save them from the steam and being cooked like lobsters on the shore.

"That was beautiful." Nathan whispered as he watched everything come together perfectly. The catcher's mitt cushioned the module's impact and also dispersed all the heat evenly around the surface of the lake to avoid any disturbances other than the sudden increase in temperature. S.A.R.A.H. outdid herself on that one. The module, VLF shield intact, was then dropped like an egg into the boiling water so it could be retrieved. He didn't allow himself to celebrate or marvel in it all too long, there was still work to do. He sent a few texts before his phone rang. "Hey Ally."

Jack finally relaxed as the rescue operation came to an end. He didn't realize until now why he had been so tense over a robot, but now it was clear to him that it was a similar experience to looking for a hostage and planning an extraction. They knew the locations and dangers but had to work around them to get the victim home safe, often under the scrutiny of the authorities and perpetrator.

"Yes, I know. I took it offline." Nathan said and smiled as she went silent. "I'll explain everything when I get to GD in half an hour. I'll meet you in receiving, we have a lot of equipment to unload, data to backup and an extraterrestrial object to clean and clear for release."

Jack looked over at him. Director or not, he was going to catch hell from her over this. Though he admired how he could so easily take control of the situation now, whereas before he loathed that part of him. He blamed it on ego and arrogance, whereas now...he could see it was something else. Still a lot of arrogance, mind you, but there was a lot more to it.

"What did I do?" Nathan repeated Ally's question with a chuckle and looked out at the lake as a warm, dense fog enveloped the area. A shadowy figure of N.E.S.S.I.E along the shoreline told him Taggart was on the way to retrieve the F.A.R.S.C.A.P.E module. "'What _didn't_ we do?' should be the question. I'll talk to you soon, I have a project to supervise. All systems should be back to functioning normally now."

So maybe that admiration wore off a little as he abruptly hung up on Allison and went back to work. His communication issues were certainly not something to be overlooked, but Jack appreciated how far he had come today in an effort to include him. It was going to be something they had to meet halfway on, for sure, but no relationship was without it's struggles. He put his hands in his pockets and heard something. Jack turned and listened. The rumble was too loud for a car, it had to be a truck. A box truck or larger. He sighed, there wasn't much need for those in Eureka unless they were moving vans or part of the Global Dynamics fleet.

"I told you we have to take her to GD." Nathan said as Jack turned to stare at the trucks approaching on the gravel road.

"Yeah..." Jack said and watched the GD trucks roll up and park, then open their doors in preparation to take possession of the craft. As many times as he cursed Nathan to hell and back for pulling rank and bringing in his guys to take over a crime scene, he was having a hard time watching this without getting apprehensive. Nathan could obviously tell and Jack was really beginning to worry about how transparent he was to the guy. "It's not you Nathan, it's our entire history in Eureka together up until today. It's going to take time before I see your people sweep in here and not want to get territorial."

"I'm not complaining." Nathan said softly. "I personally did it more than I should to get a rise out of you."

"I know." Jack said turned to him and saw that grin. "I mean, I didn't know you were doing it because of us...you know what I mean."

"I didn't either." Nathan admitted and thoughtful added, "Apparently I've been absolutely infatuated with you since we first met."

Jack put his hands on his hips and said, "Were you dosed with some kind of truth serum by my house? I appreciate the honesty but the compulsory honesty is a little out of character for you."

"No." Nathan kept his eyes on the lake as N.E.S.S.I.E vanished into the fog. "I would certainly prefer to not bare my soul to you right now, but we both know that anything else will end this relationship before it begins. You know when I'm bullshitting you, when I'm only speaking half truths, nothing sets you off faster than that. You've already reacted defensively to every hit you expect to come, from the embarrassment from S.A.R.A.H.'s story to the arrival of the GD trucks, and I can't fault you for that. I've pounced on your every misstep since we first met and when you brace yourself for the impact of another insult or humiliation I realize this is entirely on me. To your credit, I find it all too easy to be honest with you even though it goes against everything in me. To earn your trust, it's a small price to pay. It's going to take some time though, I've become this person for a reason and I still need to maintain that outside of our personal interactions."

"So what tier of trust earns me that handcuff thing?"

Nathan felt the radiance of his own smile as Jack slid in and saved his pride in only the way Jack Carter could, with ill-timed humor. It didn't devalue anything he had said, but it gave him a way to close the door on the vulnerable moment and slip back into that comfortable and familiar banter they shared. He looked at Jack, that disarming smile on his face and the sparkle of blue eyes that said his secrets were safe with him. "Mars is closer than me relinquishing control on that level."

"I always fantasized about cuffing you." Jack said with a grin. "Usually in conjunction with arresting you, however I like this version of yours better."

"_Mine_?" Nathan snorted. "It was _your_ house!"

"We can use my house but I don't have bedposts." Jack countered easily and smiled.

"You're being distracting again." Nathan mumbled through his smile and started closing down his computer and collecting the equipment. He looked up as N.E.S.S.I.E emerged from the fog, pushing the module ashore with it's chest. "Let's pack up and get everything back to GD so we can start celebrating. I'll go to GD with Henry and the scientists here as they're going to want to dive right in to work. I'll catch up with you at Cafe Diem."

"Sure." Jack said and watched the Global guys attach a net to the module, still encased in it's bubble, and tow it inside the truck. There really wasn't much to see or do here anyway. Plus he had to talk to Zoe about Nathan and that was best done when he wasn't in the same room.


	8. Grand Slam

AN: One more chapter which will be the epilogue. Also, sorry this chapter got so long. Not sorry for the songfic element, LOL.

There will probably be some one-shots eventually of the "missing" scenes that need a higher rating and will go on A03.

* * *

_Opportunity Knocks_

**Chapter 8**

Grand Slam

* * *

Cafe Diem was packed with celebrating scientists when Jack arrived and he was shocked by the reception he got when he walked in the door. The entire place cheered and clapped for him with multiple 'Thank you Sheriff!'s and pats on the back. It was possibly the best reaction he had ever received for 'saving a life' and he wasn't going to look at it too critically because he had grown to appreciate this town's odd priorities. He made his way over to the counter where Zoe had a smile on her face and was clearly just as happy about his achievements today. "So...how was your day?"

Zoe looked him over, he was _glowing_. She watched him look around for an empty seat and knew he was eager to talk about today's real accomplishment-which was an out-of-this-world scientist and not a scientific breakthrough. "I'd rather hear about yours."

Jack turned back to look at her surprised. "Really?"

"Vince, I'm going to take a break." Zoe announced and Vince came over to put down two Vinspressos in front of her.

"I have a table reserved for our hero here, and I'll have your burger and pie to you shortly." Vince winked.

"Wow, not even trying to convince me to try the Opportunity Okra or Martian Mystery Meat special?" Jack chuckled.

"You wound me, Sheriff." Vince said and rolled his eyes. "I won't bother telling you what the specials actually are."

Jack watched Zoe toss her apron on a hook and come over and pick up the coffee cups to lead him to the reserved booth in the corner. It was nice to have his kid proud of him, really proud, and he was going to just add it to the list of things that made this a _really_ good day. He sat down and grinned at her, "I didn't know you were so into Mars Rovers and their retirement plans. I could have challenged someone to get Spirit home years ago if I knew it would stop you from running away from home."

"Spirit doesn't matter Dad, and this isn't about Oppy." She said as he took a sip of his coffee as she placed her phone on the table. Then she hit 'play' on the video of him and Nathan outside Cafe Diem earlier began. Except it was now set to music, because Vince insisted they use "Time of My Life" from Dirty Dancing.

_Now I've had the time of my life _

Jack almost choked on his coffee as the video played. He should have known better, nowhere was safe in this damned town, especially not on the sidewalk outside Vince's Gossip House! Someone made a music video!? "Zoe..."

_No, I never felt like this before _

"I'm really happy for you." Zoe said and he looked at her in surprise. He had to wipe some coffee from his lips as he coughed up the last of what he had almost choked on.

_Yes I swear it's the truth_

Jack coughed harder as the music conjured up an image of the iconic lake scene from the movie, expect with him leaping into Nathan's arms in Lake Archimedes.

"Don't let him get away, he makes you really happy." Zoe added as she wondered if her Dad was legitimately choking and needed medical attention. He seemed to be turning a little red.

_And I owe it all to you_

Jack stopped the video and cleared his throat as he tried to figure out how this conversation got turned around on him. He had been working himself up to deliver one of those awkward father-daughter conversations and he was not expecting it to be the recipient of it. He wasn't expecting a music video either! He didn't know what to say. He spent the whole drive over here coming up with ways to break it to her that he was going to have a date tonight and it might turn out to be something more and now she was sitting here staring at him demanding he pursue Nathan. He coughed on some residual coffee and said, "I was worried..."

"Dad, _why_ are you worried? Nathan is a scientist. He's not going to waste his time testing a hypothesis unless he's already reasonably sure there is a chance of success." Zoe said. "He's probably already done the math. He's worked out the statistics and has found a favorable outcome worth pursing."

"I mean, I guess..." That wasn't were he was going with this but...she wasn't wrong. He blinked at her wondering how he was in the position to be convinced he should date the guy instead of convincing her that they had come to an understanding and both wanted the same thing: each other. He sipped his coffee, now that he was done choking on it, and decided to enjoy the conversation as his daughter lobbied for him to pursue Nathan Stark.

"S.A.R.A.H ran a million and a half simulations and would have never invested in this ship if she thought it would hurt you."

"I thought she worked on the ship because she wanted a little A.I. friend." Jack replied, then realized from her look that that was _not_ what she meant.

"Oh my God, _Dad_." Zoe sighed. "You need to update your vocabulary. A ship is a _relation_ship."

"So you're OK with this? Me and Nathan." He opted to just roll with it, it made it all easier. He was glad Zoe was supportive, but this was more than he was expecting. A music video,_ really_?

"You ask me this _now?_ After you've been eye-banging him for the last year?" She countered and crossed her arms and gave him an admonishing look.

"Hey, watch _your_ vocabulary young lady!"

"Seriously, the whole town has been betting on you."

Jack took a deep breath and wondered why he was always the last to know. Captain Oblivious apparently, just like in S.A.R.A.H.'s story. Curiosity got the better of him and he accepted that he was just always going to be the subject of ridicule around here. Accepted it because he got the hot scientist that all of them wanted. "So, who won?"

"Jo."

"Well that should smooth her over for the news that I'm getting a second Deputy this week." Jack smiled and sipped his drink. It was a relief to know that he and Nathan didn't have to hide anything, even if the violation of privacy should have bothered him more.

"Who?" She asked.

"Opportunity." Jack grinned. He was really stupidly excited about the decision to give the rescued rover a job with the Sheriff's department. He was expecting them to keep her at GD or release her back into the wilds of the testing grounds, but instead Henry and Nathan had agreed that she should work with him. He got the rover since he was the one responsible for the rescue mission, words that made his knees weak when the triumphant team had applauded the decision back at the lake. He had absolutely no idea how he would deal with a robot Deputy but he felt like it evened the odds a little against the irresponsible scientists in this town. "Henry told me he's going to be upgrading Oppy and making her a patrol rover. She's going to go around Eureka and take pictures and send them to my phone. Then I not only have evidence of the crimes, but advanced warnings!"

"I hope he upgrades her speed because it took her 15 years to go 25 miles." Zoe said dryly.

"Don't be jealous of your new little sister!" Jack said and gave her an amused smirk before taking another swig of coffee. "Besides, that is because she was tasked with an exploration mission and the gravity and atmosphere of Mars are different than here on Earth. "

"Look at you with your science talk."

"I'm trying." Jack admitted. "So, Nathan wants to make dinner at our house tonight. Is that, okay with you?"

"Are you asking because you want me to find a reason to stay at Pilar's?"

"Can you _not _imply I want the house to myself, _please_."

"Dad, you just pulled off the impossible. You can celebrate, just make sure S.A.R.A.H. is in privacy mode..."

"Zoe, please." Jack begged. "It's just dinner."

"With your _boyfriend _who you just adopted a Mars Rover with." Zoe said. "You need me to chaperon?"

"One, not my boyfriend _yet_. Two, we just rescued her and she's not our kid. Three, you're my kid. You're part of the deal and I don't want you thinking you can't come home because I might be on a date." Jack looked into his coffee. He never felt compelled to ask her about anyone else he was seeing, but he knew that Nathan would be around a lot. He knew this was the real thing and it was going to affect her more than anyone. Being the Sheriff's daughter was hard enough on her, adding in 'My Dad is dating the GD director and he built Nobel prize worthy stuff on my coffee table' was going to be a whole new issue. The PTA meetings were going to be vicious because there wasn't a teacher or parent in this town who didn't swoon when Nathan showed up for the science fair or career day. "I recognize this affects you a lot more than if I was dating someone else and I want to know it's not going to be awkward for you."

"I would have left Eureka a year ago if your obnoxious flirting bothered me." Zoe rolled her eyes.

"Was I that oblivious?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you say something?"

"Because he went from snarky asshole to flirty asshole and clearly was into it." She said, "And you were happy as well as _clearly_ into it."

"OK, _language_." Jack said and thought about it. He really did a bad job of hiding his attraction. Maybe he should be giving Nathan shit for not recognizing_ his_ advances.

"It's character growth for him." She said. "He changed because of you."

"You read S.A.R.A.H.'s stories, didn't you?"

"No." Zoe said. "I want you to be happy but reading some porn about you on the internet is way too far. So, promise me that you will turn on privacy mode so I can not have nightmares about actual events taking place in my home."

"But you're OK with dinner tonight, right?"

"What's he making?"

"Steak and potatoes." Jack answered. "Fancy steak with sauce. He's using some cooker I didn't know was in our house."

"Isn't he still married to Allison?" Zoe asked. It would shock her if her Dad would ignore that in order to pursue someone, she wasn't sure about Nathan though. She needed to know this was serious for both parties or else her Dad was going to be the one hurt.

"Actually they signed divorce papers a month ago."

"In that case, I'm serious about giving you the house to yourself." She said with a smile. "I'll stay for dinner but you two should have an actual date after all you did today."

"'Actual' date?" He said and leaned over the table and narrowed his eyes at her. "Why don't you fill me in on what kids these days call an 'actual' date since I've been out of the dating game for a while. Also, thanks for checking to see if I was maintaining my integrity or just throwing it all away for a pretty face."

"I'm worried about him, not you." She clarified. "I want to see you happy and you're always so happy when you come home after a day of working with him. If he ruins that, I will find a way to strand him on Mars."

"Let's just get through dinner." Jack said and looked up as his burger arrived. He was starving and needed something to get him to dinner before he ruined the meal by devouring a steak whole while Nathan called him a savage. Right now his focus was on making sure this burger was off the table when he got here and there was no evidence of him ruining his appetite. "What time does your shift end?"

"It's Friday. I'm here til closing." She said and he winced as he realized that was going to put them at 10:30pm at the earliest. "Vince is in a great mood today so I can take a dinner break and come back to finish up. As long as I promise to tell him how dinner went."

Vince nodded. "Absolutely!"

"Invested in the ship, are you?" Jack asked and savored the bite of burger.

"Everyone is." She informed him. "So tell me what time you want to eat and I'll be there. It will be easier to go to Pilar's from here anyway."

"Ok, we can do that." He said and then invested himself in his burger. It felt oddly satisfying that the hottest gossip was going to be about him and the one genius in the town that everyone fantasized about. He was feeling pretty good about himself right now, even if the Dirty Dancing song was stuck in his head.

* * *

Nathan followed the truck back to GD and purposely asked Henry to ride with the module. His mentor would be out of the truck first, enthusiastically explaining to Ally everything that they had accomplished today; every law broken, every advancement made, every bit of joy and excitement Henry could muster. Then he'd walk up and give her his apologetic smile and assure her it was all under control and the DoD didn't need to know the details, just the results.

When he parked and walked into the receiving bay, he saw that it was all happening exactly as he planned. Henry's hands were waving about, his grin was wide and he was already on to the implications of how today's events had opened up a new era for humanity. Ally was standing there speechless and when he walked up to her, she was looking at him with pure awe. Yesterday he would have wanted nothing more than to seize the opportunity and offer to make her dinner and bring wine. Today he realized that he was only trying to savage their relationship because of his wounded pride and fear that she might be the one who moved on to Jack before he could. Thoughts of dinner with Jack tonight had kept him tingling with excitement all day, a feeling he had forgotten about. He owed Ally an apology for putting her through all this, even if he didn't quite see his own motives until now. "Henry can supervise and Fargo can make sure it's all cataloged if you want to go to my office and talk."

"That would be a good start." Ally said as Henry gave Nathan a huge smile and squeeze to the arm as he almost skipped off to complete his task. They were back on good terms it seemed. "Nathan..."

"I'm sorry." He said and hated that so many of their conversations started out this way. "I'll handle the fallout from this, I don't expect you to lie about me leaving you in the dark."

Allison watched as a module was unloaded from the truck. All she could see was a net around what looked like a protective bubble. Everything Henry said was like a blur, terms she understood yet could not comprehend being a viable option to salvage a rover from Mars. At least not without another five years of development and research. "You really did it, didn't you?"

"We did." He replied with a huge smile. "Eureka did."

"Yeah." She said as words escaped her as the reality of what Henry had said was unloaded from the trucks before her eyes. She had to jog to catch up with Nathan as he was already walking towards the elevator. "So the Einstein-Rosen bridge?"

"It works." He said and pressed the 'up' button. The door opened immediately as Ally was the last to use it, most of GD was at Cafe Diem celebrating. "Well, what I made with the research works. I think the original would have required a lot more time and someone way more intelligent than me to get functional."

Allison stepped on the elevator and stared at him. He was calm, satisfied and simply radiant. This was the man she fell in love with, the man who could do anything and thrived when forced to do the impossible.

"Once the bridge devices were complete, the FTL drive was actually pretty easy to get working." He said and looked down at her and saw the look he so desperately missed, the look of adoration. It was easier to fix an antique wormhole travel machine than it was for him to fix his marriage. He knew why, now, and he was fine admitting it. "Ally, I don't want to talk about what I did today, I want to talk about us."

She looked at his face and her reaction was to look away and get tense. There wasn't a day that went by since they signed the divorce papers that she didn't ask herself if she did the right thing. "Nathan..."

The door dinged announcing the arrival on the floor their offices were on and he stepped out to avoid having her offer the same excuses for _them_ that she always did. They were in his office before she could say another word. As soon as he heard the door close he went to sit on his desk so he could be on the same eye-level for this conversation. "I know you were pissed at me when you gave me the divorce papers and I didn't fight you on it; that I didn't fight for _us_. The truth is, it hurt and I couldn't let you see me that weak. My own wife and I couldn't show you how I genuinely felt. It's taken me a while to realize that is how it's been for a while. We compete with each other and I think we were always more in love with the idea of being each others spouse than actually wanting to compromise and be united as one. Eventually we became comfortable with how we hovered around each other without truly bonding together. Maybe that's why we went to City Hall instead of standing in front of a priest and speaking vows, it was a social contract. I love you Ally, but we just can't be together without sacrificing a core part of who we are and making ourselves miserable."

"I don't want you to give up your work." She said and realized that in one day of freedom he accomplished so much. "However, I gave up being a doctor for my son and I couldn't help but resent you for working. Even when you were working with Kevin...I felt like it was still work for you. At least that's what I told myself, but in reality I was jealous because you connected so much better with him and you didn't treat him like he was broken. I do. I can't accept his autism as part of who he is, as a medical doctor I want to return him to working inside the established spectrum of normal. You somehow, as a scientist, can accept that normal isn't relevant."

"It's why we don't work well together." He said. "Our approaches are different and it's very much a key part of who we are. I'm mad at myself for not being able to figure out a solution to that, especially when redefining physics is easy and yet something so simple as life with a woman I love was so volatile."

"I didn't want to compete with your research." She said and took a deep breath. "Professionally or personally."

"We both needed support from each other in conflicting areas." He admitted. "I didn't want the guilt about working, you wanted work to stop and family to take precedent after hours. We just don't work _together_. I need someone who works with me and you need someone who won't work when with you."

She cocked her head and saw immediately where this was leading. "This is about closure because you found someone else you _do _work with."

He sighed. He was usually pretty transparent to her when he was being honest or even half-honest. That's probably why he guarded himself around her when he was working, an occupational hazard unfortunately. "I was ready to let us go when I came back to Eureka. Ally, we were separated for a year. I didn't even tell you I was taking a job in D.C. I didn't tell you I took this job again. I moved back into my house without saying a word. We were both done with our marriage just too proud to admit defeat. I was an asshole and for that, I am truly sorry."

She smiled at him. "So being possessive of me was to keep me from starting something from Jack because you wanted _me_ out of the equation?"

"I'd apologize but I think you liked it."

"A little." She admitted. "However I wouldn't have asked for a divorce if deep down I didn't know you were happier with someone else. So Jack Carter, huh?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "I'm having dinner with him tonight."

"I'm glad." She said and genuinely smiled at him. "He does make you happy. Maybe I wasn't focused on why until now, you genuinely like working with him. Your banter was actually always pretty flirty. I should have known there was more to you taking off your shirt to check your vitals than alpha male intimidation."

He shrugged as she laughed at him. Then she came over and gave him a kiss on the cheek and he felt her pat his other cheek. He raised an eyebrow, wordlessly asking that that was for.

"You took the day off, there isn't anything that can't wait until Monday. Go celebrate your victory with him, you two accomplished so much today." She said and his eyes were so soft and thankful for her understanding. "I'll wait until Monday to yell at both of you for lying to me."

"We really didn't lie." He said and she rolled her eyes and turned to leave.

"Get out of here, Nathan. Go enjoy the rest of your day off." She looked over her shoulder at him. "And don't hurt him."

He watched her leave and felt the sting of that, knowing that was going to be everyone's reaction to finding out he was dating Jack. He deserved it, but today he had gone so far out of his comfort zone to avoid seeing even a flicker of doubt on Jack's face that he felt confident saying he could put Jack ahead of himself. Now it was time to prove it.

* * *

"Nice of you to show up for work today." Jo said as she slipped into the booth across from her boss and gave him a scrutinizing look. His eyes were evasive and she was going to enjoy toying with him. "Any developments you want to share with me?"

"Yeah, Henry told me he's going to add some features to Oppy when he gets her up and running so we can add her to our team." Jack replied as he ate the last of his fries. "He said he can task her to search for environmental abnormalities and stream her photo feed to our phones. So, now, we can see the tree damage from Taggart's Sasquatch or evidence of trespassing. Even atmospheric disturbances that might indicate someone is going to blow crap up."

"You _do_ realize it took her 15 years to go 25 miles, right?" Jo asked.

"He's going to upgrade her speed and give her little arms and stuff." He said and squirmed in his seat as she continued to stare at him with that look that said 'you know this is not the information I am fishing for'. Yeah, he could spend days in interrogation but Jo was able to bend him to her will on with just that look. Better the 'look' than her small but scrappy frame.

"I hear Dr. Stark made some _discoveries_." She said and cocked an eyebrow.

"I know you won." He finally broke. "Which hurts because I would have appreciated you telling me how damned obvious I was in ogling him that my teenage daughter had to sit down and have a 'talk' with me. A father-daughter talk about having confidence in my budding relationship with the genius who just made space travel possible."

"I didn't want to risk influencing your relationship. I _really_ didn't want to be disqualified from winning all that money." Jo grinned.

"Thanks partner."

"He likes it when you're oblivious. Especially when he's checking out your ass while you walk away all pissed off at him." She smiled. "There has been absolutely no reason why the director of GD should be involved in half of what you investigated up there, yet there he was. Eager to _insert_ himself into your investigations."

"Thanks." He said as she laughed at his expense. "Maybe Oppy will be your replacement since you just hit the lottery betting on me."

"There's more bets to be made now. How long it takes for you to move in together. Who will propose. How long til the wedding." She grabbed a fork and took a bite of his pie. "I will break him in half if he hurts you, though."

"OK, maybe I don't want to know about the illegal gambling in this establishment." He said and shook his head. Everyone was so protective of him and he wondered if any of them had actually watched him argue with Abby when she was here. He could be difficult too. "One date. It doesn't mean anything but fancy dinner."

"It's Friday, Carter." She reminded him. "You two have _all weekend _without interruptions."

"Except he's got a cool new toy from Mars to go play with." He added, "And it's my weekend to work, _remember_?"

"I bet he wants to play with _you_ more."

"You didn't seriously place that bet, did you!?"

Jack almost jumped out of his seat when Cafe Diem erupted in applause. He turned around and looked to the door, Nathan had just arrived and was receiving the hero's welcome he deserved. He actually seemed to be accepting it well, something he was known to absorb with less grace and as if it was a given that he deserved it. Now he was normal, one of the people here and actually shaking hands and answering questions from his fans. What a change a day made.

Nathan made his rounds and then went over to the TV and held up his phone to send an image to be displayed. A picture taken by the F.A.R.S.C.A.P.E module of Oppy on Mars and the GD flag that Henry placed in the ground beside her with the extension arm before he locked on to the rover. That sent them over the edge and the building seemed to rumble with the cheers from everyone. He looked at them and didn't give a speech, just a nod to them all and a smile for a job well done before he walked over to the table Jack was at. Deputy Lupo jumped up and offered him her seat.

"I'm on duty this weekend, so you don't have anything to worry about Sheriff."

Jack saw Nathan's smirk as she swaggered away. Everyone was invested in them and he was really flattered they weren't asking 'Why' the genius would be interested in Sheriff 111. "So, I'm getting the feeling that we're not going to be getting too many surprised looks if we start spending more time together."

"Did you just eat a burger?" Nathan sat down and looked at the empty plate still on the table and glared at him. "I'm not putting poison as flavoring on your steak, it's just sauce. I'll put it on the side if you're going to be such a baby about it."

"I was hungry. It's been a long day." Jack whined as then added, "Relax, I'm still looking forward to eating your meat, savory sauce and all."

Nathan watched him blush as he realized Vincent was standing at the table ready to take his order. Vincent looked about ready to explode as he walked in on that statement that could be heavily laced with innuendo. Jack groaned and covered his eyes with his hand as his face turned even redder after realizing how bad that sounded. This time he opted to save Jack from his own foot in his mouth. "I'm cooking dinner so, as much as I would like to hear about today's specials, I'm going to save my appetite."

"Would you like a Vinpresso to go then?"

"Sounds good." Nathan nodded and watched his Sheriff unfold from his embarrassed curl and then ran his foot up the other man's calf. "What time do you want to eat since you just set back our schedule probably an hour."

"I can still eat." Jack assured him. He wanted to melt into a puddle of shivers and moans as Nathan rubbed his leg without any reservations whatsoever. This guy was going to be the death of him, that assessment hadn't changed at all from the first day they met to now, just different cause of death. "Zoe won't get off work til late but she's going to take a break to eat with us. I should probably clean up the house a little as it looks like someone built a warp drive in my living room."

"So hang around here for about an hour and then head over to your place?"

"Are you hoping she won't notice the mess in the living room if we're _on top of it_?" Jack asked with a smile as he got his hand slapped for trying to take another forkful of pie.

"Jack, you can turn down the flirting a notch. You have my attention and, in fact, I am trying to control that attention by mentally calculating how long it will take to get you alone." Nathan said through gritted teeth.

"Your libido answers to your day planner?" Jack felt like a smile had been etched on his face since they started talking. This was just naturally them. It was their thing. It was a good thing.

"You're going to be answering for this teasing tonight if you keep this up."

"You're the one rubbing my leg like a cat in heat." Jack snorted and then narrowed his eyes at him, "So dessert is on the menu too, huh?"

Nathan bit his lip as Vince returned with his coffee. Jack's eyes were sparkling as he sat across from him and just assured him that the next hour of his life was going to be excruciatingly painful and test his patience. The hell with it, nobody cared if he left. "I'm going home to shower and change."

"I thought you were going to bask in the glory of your future Nobel." Jack said and sat up as he realized he was the one making Nathan call a retreat. He wasn't even the one using his leg to make him squirm!

"I'll see you in an hour." Nathan took his coffee and gave him a smile. They both were well aware of why he needed to leave and he saw Jack's smile brightened as he realized he could bring him to his knees so easily. If they were alone, he probably would have offered to do just that. He felt like a teenager again, unable to control his urges and needing to clear his head. Work was no longer a distraction and Jack was way too potent to deal with on his own.

* * *

When he got home, Jack stayed busy cleaning up the bits and pieces of electrical connections, computer parts and miscellaneous other crap he wasn't sure how to label. He just sucked them all up with the vacuum, thankful for central vac since he was sure he'd get yelled at about throwing away something valuable and could just hand off the canister instead of digging through the trash. Then he did his best to clean up his kitchen island of whatever it was used for too. Some dielectric grease was being stubborn about coming off the surface and he cursed as he spread it around more. When he was done, he rewarded himself with a shower thinking he had enough time for that.

He was wrong.

Nathan was notoriously for being early and also great at showing up at the exact worse time for Jack. Currently that was when he was walking out of his bathroom in a towel and expecting to have his house to himself. Instead he walked out and saw Nathan sitting on his couch typing on his laptop. Nathan looking amazing in a burgundy dress shirt that was partially unbuttoned. He froze and looked for a clock._ Goddammit S.A.R.A.H!_

"Sheriff Carter, I let Dr. Stark in since he had an appointment and you were enjoying your shower."

Jack flinched as Nathan started laughing, that low and almost musical laugh that made him feel his loins stir despite just taking care of that in the shower a few minutes ago. "S.A.R.A.H., you're pushing it today."

"I am not wrong."

"That is all kinds of wrong! Don't make me move dinner to his house!" Jack said and clutched his towel tighter as she made some weird sad electronic harmonica sound. He looked at Nathan, who was still smiling at him and enjoying the view. "I'm going to go get dressed and you can just keep making yourself comfortable."

"Thanks. I'm writing a program for your phone so you can get the Oppy feed when she's back online and ready for her second mission. An Oppy App."

Jack nodded. "One of these days you're going to have to tell me what all your PhDs are, besides that one for nuclear fission water heater repair from MIT. Right now, I'm going to put on clothes."

Nathan was tempted to ask if he wanted help, but he didn't want to be too pushy. Being flirty and suggestive was one thing, asking to follow him to his bedroom and rip the towel off and pin him to his bed was another. The thought in itself made the lines of code he was looking at blur together. He pinched the bridge of his nose. He was trying to be good, he didn't want to ruin this relationship by rushing into sex before they had a few dates. Then again, Jack wasn't exactly making it easy on him.

"So how is Oppy doing?"

That was a good segue into normal conversation. "Henry is sending me updates. The team is going to spend the night getting her cleaned up. He's heading home to get some rest so he can put in some long hours this weekend. Henry thinks by morning he will have her at his garage and be ready to start working on her."

"That's fast!"

"Henry's ecstatic. He's got a box of equipment that never made it past the prototype stage when we build her. Now he can put it to use." Nathan explained. "We agreed that she earned a new career. You were the one who brought her home so there was no question as to who we were going to give her to."

"NASA's not going to come and take her away are they? This isn't going to be some E.T. remake where the feds show up to confiscate my little friend?"

"I'd love to see them try." Nathan snorted in amusement. He looked up as Jack came downstairs, dressed in a nice blue dress shirt and jeans. He managed to internalize his groan of desire. He'd never wanted anyone more in his life and there was no way he was going to be able to go home tonight without quenching that need. He suddenly realized he would volunteer to be handcuffed if that was what it took to have Jack Carter tonight. He wasn't sure which head was going to explode as he reached that level of self-actualization. "I'm going to start dinner."

"Can I help?"

"Don't eat a burger and fries while you're waiting." Nathan saved his progress on his program and stood up. "That would be a start."

* * *

"Dinner is served." Nathan said as he arranged the potatoes and steamed vegetables on the plates next to the perfectly seared steaks. He picked them up and delivered them to the table, then went back to grab his own as well as the gravy boat filled with the sauce he made. He grumbled his annoyance as he set the sauce in front of Jack.

"I told you I'd try the special sauce."

"Then you can try it." Nathan sat down and reached for his glass of Scotch. "On your own."

Zoe couldn't get over how cute they were together already. The bantered back and forth like an old married couple, at least the ones she had grown up watching on TV. The ones she wished were her own parents instead of the constant tension and arguing. There was no resentment in Nathan's voice when he made a show of serving her Dad a plain steak, but amusement. She took a bite of the steak and her eyes grew wide as she realized Nathan Stark was some kind of magician. This was on par with anything Vincent could serve up. "This is amazing."

"Thank you Zoe." Nathan said and glared at Jack as he lifted a piece of non-sauced steak to his mouth.

"Fine." Jack put his fork down and ladled a small drizzle of sauce onto the steak piece and gave Nathan a smug smile as he returned the ladle. Then he kept his eyes on him as he grabbed the fork and placed the piece of meat on his tongue and chewed. He could feel his eyes light up in surprise as his taste buds reacted to an array of distinct flavors that complemented the perfectly cooked steak. Nathan gave him a smug smile and raised his eyebrows, waiting for an apology. "This_ is _amazing."

"Thank you." Nathan said graciously and silence fell over the table as they ate in quiet, enjoying every last bit of the meal. He was happy to be able to be part of a family again, something he knew that Jack and Zoe probably took for granted. Not that it was deliberate, it was just too easy to forget how special routines were until they were gone. Jack was opening up his home, heart and family to him and he was going to make damned sure he respected and appreciated that. He certainly appreciated the warm welcome S.A.R.A.H. and Zoe had shown him, especially when they both took interest in the Oppy App he was writing. This was a little slice of heaven and he had to tell himself that he needed to keep his sexual needs in check to ensure the relationship started and progressed right.

After about fifteen minutes of clean up, Zoe announced he was going back to work and left Jack and Nathan alone for the night. Jack hated that he was getting anxious about her leaving, because he really wanted to get his hands on Nathan. She was barely out the door before he crossed the kitchen, pushed Nathan up against the fridge after he put away leftovers, and pulled him down into a kiss.

His previous thoughts left his head as Jack's lips met his, a lingered taste of beer mixed with his own aftertaste of scotch. Jack's kiss was hungry, needy and possessive at the same time. His body pressed against his and he wrapped his arms around Jack, pulling him tight and letting one hand drift down to his ass. Jack only got more heated with the kiss, tongue in his mouth and hot breath blowing over his face.

"You want to burn off those calories so dinner doesn't go straight to your abs?"

"Seriously?" Nathan asked with a teasing look. Jack's grin was mischievous and downright sinful. "We just started dating. You think I'm going to be easy?"

"I've been eye banging you for a year. I 'd like to actually use the right body part and make up for lost time." Jack ran his hand over Nathan's chest and realized it was better than he imagined.

"I was not expecting you to be this aggressive and horny." Nathan said, a little out of breath as Jack's words took his breath away.

"Want me to slow down a little?"

He grinned, amused he was turning that line against him now. "Nope. I never want you to stop surprising me Jack."

"Good because you've been taking off your shirt in front of me since the day we met and I'm dying to get my hands on you." Jack said and bit his lip as he tried to say the next words without laughing. "I'd like a private consultation with NobelDoctorStarkNaked about some...swelling I have."

"God." Nathan drawled, as Jack burst out laughing and put his head into his shoulder to try and get it under control. This was the immature idiot he couldn't get enough of, the man who went from sexually arousing to sexually inappropriate in the blink of an eye. He was relieved that he wasn't going to have to find some way to keep his mind off of Jack all weekend, relieved he probably didn't have to keep himself off him at all. He embraced the moment and let himself partake in the fun. "Let's go, _JackIt_."

Jack almost had his laughter under control until Nathan whispered that in his ear. Then he erupted in laughter, tears filling his eyes and uncontrollable laughter shaking his body as Nathan tried to lead him to the bedroom. Jack tried to say something, but was too busy hyperventilating to find control over his vocal cords. He whimpered instead, annoyed with his own lack of self-control and the fact that he was getting a view of Nathan's amazing ass he he pulled him by the hand to the stairs.

* * *

They didn't come up for air until Sunday morning to go to church. Zoe met them there and they sat with Allison and Kevin, slipping so easily into the established routine that it felt like a dream. People were genuinely happy to see them together and Zoe was proud to show Nathan she had taken his Oppy App and had a working beta ready to be installed on her Dad's phone. Nathan was impressed and also relieved, as Jack had kept him too occupied to even think about looking at code.

Jack didn't think things could get any better, but then Henry informed him that he had finished upgrading Oppy and she was up and running again. He told him he had more plans for her and would install them over time, but he really wanted to release her for her trial run and make sure what he did was functional. Zoe added an app to his phone that was a direct feed to the rover and he spent most of brunch at Cafe Diem playing with it and asking when he could see the robot for the first time. When Henry admitted she was already out on patrol and had expressed her desire to thank S.A.R.A.H. herself, he jumped up from the table and demanded Nathan drive them home.

Nathan was glad he had already fallen in love with Jack's antics or else he would have taken his phone away and told him to sit his ass down and finish eating with the family. Instead he stood up and apologized for him and followed him out to the car. Jack was mesmerized by the pictures he was getting on his phone of Oppy's journey from Henry's garage to the bunker and had to be pulled over to Nathan's car as he already forgot who drove them to church.

"I'm so excited to meet her for the first time!" Jack said and showed him the photos of the road that Oppy sent him. "She's identified genetically modified trees!"

"It's Eureka, Jack." Nathan reminded him. "Everything is genetically modified."

"She's advising we put up a deer crossing sign at mile marker 42 because she can see it's a high traffic area!" Jack gasped. "Infrared images!"

"None of this technology is new and you have access to most of it already."

"Why? Because I have access to you now, _Director Stark_?" Jack asked and raised his eyebrows.

"No, _idiot_, it's all in the supply closet in your office." Nathan countered and saw that conflicted look on his face that he got when he was wondering if he was just pulling his leg.

"Hey!" Jack exclaimed as they pulled into the driveway for the bunker and he saw Opportunity trying to communicate with S.A.R.A.H at one of her exterior cameras, just as Henry promised. She was huge, not some tiny robot, and he wondered how she was going to get around Eureka efficiently. It didn't matter, it was so cool to see her with his own two eyes that he jumped out of Nathan's car as soon as it was parked and ran over to his new patrol rover and bent town to pet her PVC head. "My new Deputy is here for a visit!"

"Ah, great." Nathan mumbled. He was hoping the rover wouldn't be ready for another day, he wanted to keep Jack all to himself. Jack's enthusiasm was adorable, but he was hoping it wouldn't distract him too much as he selfishly wanted to get him back down into the bunker and get back to where they left off this morning. "Now it's truly Mayberry with our hometown Sheriff and his sidekick Oppy."

"She's doing a great job already!" Jack said and showed him his phone. "Look at all the surveillance photos and potential problems she's sent me photos of so far on her first trip out of the shop!"

"She's taking pictures of us." Nathan pointed out as he looked at the images that were being taken right now.

Jack looked at his screen and saw a nice collection of candids she had snapped in the last minute. "These are pretty good. Are you checking out my ass as I pet her?"

"Glad you're happy with your new Deputy, however your new boyfriend wants to be pet too." Nathan replied and Jack gave him a smile that was pure bliss. This had been so natural between them that he barely filtered anything he said anymore. It only took two days for him to embrace falling in love with this man, falling in love faster and harder than he expected.

"We're not leaving her outside?"

Jack looked at him like he had thrown a puppy out of the house and into a storm. "Jack, she spent the last fifteen years _on Mars,_ I think she'll be OK wandering around Eureka."

"No. We didn't drag her 140 million miles back to Earth to just leave her outside!" Jack then added, "And since when is any law enforcement officer safe wandering around Eureka!?"

"She's not Rover, a dog, she's a _Mars_ rover."

"And she's coming inside!"

"Where? You live in a bunker?" Nathan asked, taking too much joy in the typical banter they had grown accustomed to. He was glad nothing changed and also thrilled Jack was so excited about his new ridiculously obvious mobile 'security camera'. He was extra happy when Jack reached out and started putting his hand in his pants.

Jack finished his hand into Nathan's pocket and pulled out his keys. Then he handed then to Oppy. "You can take Nathan's garage. This is the garage door opener. Stay warm and safe, girl."

Nathan rolled his eyes. Oppy's led lights blinked rapidly in excitement and she started to back up to start her journey to her new room. Her prototype arm twitched and pressed the wrong button and the alarm on the car went off. He rolled his eyes.

Jack ran over and reached out for the remote and pressed the alarm button to turn it off. "This button here, sweetie. You're a Carter, not a Fargo."

Nathan looked down at Jack's phone that he had abandoned in his hand and saw she was still taking pictures. He was going to have to install the app himself so he could have some pictures of them. Jack looked so happy, just gorgeous in his Sunday best enjoying his new toy. When Oppy backed up to go to her new 'room', Jack came back over and he returned his phone to him.

Jack got close to him and said, "The kids are gone for the rest of the weekend, _what ever will we do_?"

Nathan heard clicking as Oppy took more candid photos of them before going in reverse and leaving. "Your reasoning is flawed, but sometimes ends justify the means."

Jack grinned and Nathan bent down to kiss him, gently using his hand to lift up his chin and help him avoid crouching down to do so. He could hear clicking, and knew Oppy was probably using up all her memory to commemorate this event, but he didn't care. He wrapped his arm around Nathan's neck and pulled him down closer, kissing back with a lot more force than he expected. He finally had to stop so he could breathe. "So want to celebrate your success again?"

"I think we've done that enough. That's the past now." Nathan said and ran his hand over Jack's cheek, his thumb stroking his cheek bone. "Let's start celebrating us, the present and future."

"Does that mean handcuffs?"

"No." Nathan said quickly and Jack's eyes sparkled with the challenge. "Someday, maybe. You better put a different ring on my finger first."

Jack felt a surge of something he couldn't really describe. Excitement? Love? Joy? Maybe there wasn't a word for it. A warmth that resonated in his chest and just spread though out him as Nathan alluded to a future that included marriage, a lifetime commitment. It wasn't said as a joke, it was a very raw emotion and Nathan was clearly needed to know where this was all going. It was an indicator that he was invested in them and was playing for keeps. It didn't scare him in the least, if anything he wanted to finally make love to the guy instead of having fun in bed or relieving all the sexual tension between them. He grinned at him and placed a light kiss on his lips and said, "Let's go back to bed, so I can worship every square inch of you and show you that's a future I'd like to see too."

"It's a lot of inches." Nathan smirked back.

"I'm well aware of that." Jack snorted and was glad Nathan was settling in to being playful, that he trusted him enough to be this relaxed and know he wasn't going to ruin the mood. He had to pull himself way so he could get back inside away from the prying eyes of a not-so-little Mars Rover and S.A.R.A.H.'s exterior cameras. "Let's go scientist, I have my own exploratory mission I want to begin."

"Not going to pass up that _opportunity_." Nathan chirped and heard Jack groan as they jogged down the stairs to the bunker.


	9. Epilogue

_Opportunity Knocks_

Chapter 9

**Epilogue**

* * *

_Six months later..._

"Nathan!"

Nathan looked at the open door to the bunker and then back to Zoe who was sitting on the couch with him. "He doesn't actually think I'm going to get up because he's forgotten he owns a phone again, does he?"

"You're the one marrying him." Zoe said and went back to going over the wedding plans.

"Nathan!" Came another whiny call from up the stairwell.

"S.A.R.A.H., don't let him compromise your security by demanding you keep the door open so he can shout at me like a heathen." Nathan said. "I know you're internally screaming because he's left the door open and he's compromising the air quality."

"The Sheriff said it was police business." S.A.R.A.H. replied.

"Tell him to save it for the honeymoon." Zoe mumbled.

"Nathan! Did you give Oppy a Taser?"

Nathan rolled his eyes and just let his head carry with the momentum and roll back on the top of the couch. This was his life now, living with the Carters. All of them; Jack, Zoe, S.A.R.A.H and Oppy. Witty and charming banter but with _so much_ dramatic flair. Reluctantly he gave in and hollered at the stairwell, "No, Jack. Did _you_?"

There was a pause and Zoe chuckled to herself. Her Dad was mentally running through all the weapons cache and considering if he may have accidentally allowed the rover to have a Taser.

"Well, can you run a diagnostic to see if something's wrong? She just tasered Fargo."

Nathan didn't move and chirped back. "Sounds like a job for the Sheriff. Maybe you should confiscate her weapon. Do some detective work. Put the fear of God into that delinquent."

"Can you keep your foreplay to a minimum while delinquent #1 is sitting right here?" Zoe huffed.

"You have a very dirty mind, young lady" Nathan finally moved and looked at her. "Must get it from your father."

"You..." Zoe said and held a threatening finger up and her future step-Dad just looked at her, waiting with a smile on his face. "Deserve this."

As if on cue Jack hollered down the stairwell again. "Nathan! Come on!"

"He has a phone, right?" Nathan asked and pulled his own phone out to start tapping angrily on the screen. Jack drove him crazy with shit like this and Zoe just laughed it up. Ungrateful kid. All that help with her homework and projects and this was how she repaid him? "A phone with the same OppyApp we created so he can talk to her and receive her billions of photos and reports of every leaf out of place and the puddles of water she finds. He can open it up and type, 'Oppy, why did you taser Fargo?' and she will reply..."

Zoe looked at the phone held over to her so she could read it. She shook her head and yelled, "Dad! You dumbass! Use your phone! She didn't want Fargo pressing buttons the day before your wedding. Wonder who gave her that idea?"

There was silence and they both just looked at each other. Nathan shook his head, "He was on the damned phone with Fargo and forgot he had it. I guarantee it."

"Yeah, Fargo was trying to start his car. The key fob has buttons." Jack's voice floated down the stairwell.

"On a more impressive note, " Nathan said with a smile. "Looks like her A.I. is advancing at an amazing rate if she's diverting power from her batteries to zap people who she finds to be threatening."

Zoe looked over as her Dad came down the stairs and S.A.R.A.H. shut the bunker door. Nathan had no idea how advanced Oppy's AI was. She was a teenage robot with a gambling problem and had gotten herself banned from betting in Vince's pools. She won two of them betting on when Nathan would propose and what month the wedding would be in an attempt to earn money for a wedding present. Zoe didn't want her getting in trouble so she hadn't told them about it yet, plus Oppy had some incriminating photos of her and Lucas she didn't want published to the cloud. She missed being an only child. "So the baby of the family gets a taser and Nathan's house all to herself and I can't have a sleep over with a few friends while you two go on your honeymoon?"

Jack went over to stand in front of them with that 'My PDA has a camera!?' look. "Hey, this is serious. She knocked Fargo out fifteen minutes ago and came here at super speed because she was trying to intercept the call. She was scared."

"Oh, so you _do _know what this thing is." Nathan held up his hand and showed him his phone.

"I know when she's scared!" Jack said and put his hands on his hips. "She blinks those red led lights at me! She learned Morse code too!"

Nathan looked at his phone and read the screen. "Please don't send me away, I'm sorry. I did not want Fargo to ruin your wedding."

"God Dad, she knows how to play you." Zoe shook her head. "She has you wrapped around her little robot fingers."

"This." Jack said and they both looked at him like he was being unreasonable. "Is why she and I have a special language and you don't."

"This isn't the Oregon Trail, tap your phone not the Western Union telegraph." Zoe shot back.

"Reminds me of a story I once read, Taming the West." Nathan said with a smug smile.

"Don't you dare!" Jack threatened.

"Jack, when I look into your cerulean blue eyes I'm..." Nathan found himself silenced by a kiss.

"OK, I'm out of here." Zoe shut down her laptop and put it in her bag. "I hope you two will be on time to the rehearsal. Just get it out of your system so we aren't there all night while you flirt and make jokes."

Jack stood up straight and rolled his eyes. "It was just a kiss, Zoe. We kiss all the time! Grow up."

"Riiight." She said and headed for the door. "I'll take Oppy with me and talk about Stranger Danger and all that. Aunt Lexi should be in town by now, I'll get her set up in Nathan's house. Just don't let them be late to the rehearsal, S.A.R.A.H. "

Jack pouted as she waved goodbye and then felt himself yanked by the belt and suddenly straddling Nathan on the couch. The door to the bunker shut and he asked, "So you were saying about that story you read?"

"Mmm.." Nathan moaned as Jack ran his fingers though his hair while he wore that wicked grin that said he was in the mood to play around a little. He felt Jack wiggle in order to get better seated on his lap and then he bent down to start placing kisses on his temple, cheek and earlobe. Nathan grinned and put his hand on his waist and ass to steady him in case he forgot where he was precariously perched. His hand landed just below the pouch that housed his handcuffs and as Jack's lips kissed the trail of his beard down to his neck, he considered the one thing they really hadn't done in the bedroom yet. Jack was already breathing hot air and dragging his lips down his neck and unbuttoning his collar to gain more access, and Nathan was having a hard time concentrating. He unclasped the pouch and picked up the handcuffs with his finger then raised his hand to dangle them in front of Jack's face as he started to kiss his shoulder blade. "I said it was a trust thing and I don't think there's a better time than now to show I trust you."

Jack stared at the stainless steel rings hanging from Nathan's finger and he sat up straight and found himself a little overwhelmed. Yeah, they were getting married tomorrow but this handcuff thing signified something else entirely to Nathan. It meant not being in control, which for Nathan was huge. "Are you sure you want this?"

"I trust you Jack. It's not easy for me to relinquish control like this but I want to." He looked onto Jack's surprised and beautiful eyes and smiled. "It's important to me that I can say my vows tomorrow knowing that I can do this."

"Seriously?" Jack chuckled. "Handcuffed to the bed is something on your checklist? Zoe is going to be so proud to call us parents if that's in your vows."

Nathan loved him. He loved how Jack put him at ease with his jokes and the smile on his face that just lit up the room. "I already ruined one marriage being unable to compromise and being unwilling to be vulnerable. I'm terrified of that happening again because I don't know how to go back to a life without you."

Jack kissed him and whispered. "I get it. I never tried anything different with Abby because I knew she would judge me. I'll never forget that feeling of not being able to be honest with my wife. I also have to be honest that this isn't some accomplishment I need in order to believe you love me. If it's something you're not comfortable with, I respect that."

Nathan dropped the handcuffs in Jack's hands and slapped him on the ass. "You want me to carry you up there bridal style or save that for tomorrow?"

"You're being bossy right now." Jack snorted. "The handcuff thing is about restraint and immobilization, but mainly about_ not_ being in control. It's also going to do damage if you struggle against them as their not kinky cuffs but my actual work tools. Maybe we should wait and order something designed for this kinda bedroom usage?"

"We need to be at the rehearsal in two hours." Nathan reminded him.

"Are you trying to get me in the mood to get rough with you?" Jack asked slyly.

"No idiot, I'm trying to get you off me so you can handcuff me to the bed and fuck me." Nathan said and saw Jack bite his lip to stop himself from grinning. "What?"

"You are really failing at this not being in charge thing." Jack said and struggled with the thought of potential hurting Nathan with this or doing it for the wrong reasons.

"What are you going to do about it Sheriff?"

"You are _so_ bad at this." Jack laughed and found himself pushed off his fiance's lap and onto the couch. "Where are you going? Are you going to handcuff yourself to the bed and tell me what you want? Maybe just do it yourself because I'm incompetent?"

"I already told you what I want." Nathan said and stood up, unbuttoning his shirt as he did so.

"Yeah...that's not ever a problem with you." Jack said and rolled off the couch. "The whole point of this is that you are not in charge because it's the only place you don't have to give orders or stress about your decisions."

"Then stop questioning me."

Jack was slapped in the face with Nathan's dress shirt and he couldn't help but laugh. He swung his handcuffs around his finger and just ogled Nathan's beautiful torso. "Fine, I get to pick the safe word."

"God..."

"Invisibling."

"No."

"Too late."

"It will be if you don't come to the bedroom _right now_." Nathan said as he walked out of his pants.

"Can you not leave your clothes on the floor? You traumatize Zoe enough with your 'Nothing sensitive about it. Sex is science. I'm having sex with your Dad.' attitude."

"Then come teach me a lesson."

"That's _not_ how this particular kink is supposed to work!" Jack repeated and picked up the shirt and pants and ran up the stairs after him. "Can you stop switching roles so you can feel like you're in charge?"

"Come shut me up then."

"Nathan!" Jack laughed and threw the clothes down and kicked the door closed and tackled his fiance to the floor. He rolled him over and kissed him. His laughter faded as he found himself once again wondering how he got so lucky. He loved this man, loved every damned thing about him even the things he used to hate. He also loved the compromises and this compromising position he put himself in. He felt hands moving to take off his shirt and he kissed Nathan's jawline back to his ear and whispered, "First thing, scientist, is to observe your surroundings. If you did, you'd notice I have no bedposts."

"Goddammit..."

_Click_

"However I do have a bed frame." Jack said and grinned.

Nathan looked up at his handcuffed hand and just sighed. He didn't want to do this on the floor. It wasn't how this fantasy usually played out in his mind, but he appreciated that Jack was leaving one hand free. He was struggling already with the desire to tell him how he had expected this to be done but that was not the point. He saw the look in Jack's eye that told him he knew this. He pushed aside those thoughts and accepted it for what it was and just focused on Jack's blue eyes. "If this is how you treat your prisoners, I might go back to being the town villain."

Jack looked at the clock. If they were late to their rehearsal dinner then Nathan was going to have a fit. Mr. 'Always Early' overachiever was not going to handle that well. So he tossed his gun belt on the bed and left Nathan's other hand free so he didn't overload him too much, especially the day before they were getting married. "I'm trying to avoid that. So, considering time constraints and the possibly harmful restraints, I'm going to ask that we save the real handcuff thing for our honeymoon. I appreciate the gesture Nathan, but I don't want you to suppress who you are because I fell in love with the egocentric megalomaniac that got in my way at every turn. There's more to you than that and I keep falling for you harder than I though was possible. I love you for your faults as well as your assets, I want you to enjoy this and not make it about some kind of perceived flaw that you think is going to ruin our relationship."

Nathan felt his lips on his as a warmth radiated through him. Just when he thought he couldn't love him more than he already did...

"So let's just meet halfway on this right now. I'll leave one hand cuffed and you can say your vows tomorrow..." Jack paused, leaned in close and stared into his eyes before he continued "Knowing that I still haven't written mine and am just going to make them up on the spot."

Nathan took a moment to react, that warm and wonderful feeling had made his reaction time a little sluggish. Jack started laughing and undressing as he finally spat, "You _what_!?"

* * *

"So how did you propose?" Lexi Carter asked as she finally met the man who was the center of Jack's world. At home and work apparently, as the guy seemed the be the sun that this whole town revolved around. Everyone she met so far had been so excited to tell her about how much they adored her brother and how he had been the one to soften up the director enough to make everyone's lives less stressful. So this was Nathan Stark. He definitely was worth the hype.

"Hmmm." Nathan hummed as Jack laughed nervously and Zoe rolled her eyes. "I got down on one knee and before I could say a thing, dumbass here starts babbling about being late for dinner. How _I'm _so dramatic getting on my knee like a traveling merchant offering up a sacred time peace to the court jester. 'Ha..hahah...first my house locks me out for missing dinner and now my boyfriend has to buy me a watch so I can find my way home on time. Maybe he should just keep his crazy scientists in check before he clocks out of the day!'"

"Ok, but in my defense you were on one knee holding up a watch like it was the first fire man created." Jack chuckled.

"Or I was on one knee in the _universally acknowledged _gesture of a man proposing marriage." Nathan countered.

"I literally walked in on this and had to say 'Oh my god, you're proposing!?' before Dad realized what was happening." Zoe said.

"How was I supposed to know he wasn't mocking me!?" Jack looked down at the watch Nathan had given him, something he had made specifically as an engagement ring substitute. Super accurate and with a million function she never intended to use. It wasn't nearly as huge as the one he wore, but when you were as tall as Nathan you needed something size appropriate and appropriately intimidating.

"I told you on our third date I intended to marry you." Nathan rolled his eyes.

"Third _date_?" Jack playfully fired back. "More like third _day_ that you didn't leave my house after the first date. Invited yourself in and then never left. Like a vampire."

"Not a vampire."

"You sure know how suck like..."

"Dad." Zoe growled.

"Anyhow." Nathan said with a smile to his future sister in law. "It went as expected, _completely over his head_."

"Nice, Jack." Lexi said and looked at the gorgeous man her brother managed to snag. _Nice,_ Jack. "So the third date, huh?"

"I'm too old and too busy to be wasting time dating anyone I'm not interested in spending the rest of my life with. I declared my intentions and he _still _acted surprised when asked him, several times, if he would please stop talking and just answer my simple question." Nathan rolled his eyes as Jack started laughing. "If I wanted to just sleep around I could have done so with anyone in this town. I wouldn't have to move in with them or gift them a Mars Rover to do so."

"Did you get a degree in 'Theoretical Fornication' when I wasn't paying attention?" Jack grinned at him.

"I could have." Nathan replied dryly. "I have a lot of time on my hands waiting on you to come home on time for dinner."

"So that's the story of the proposal." Zoe said. "That is why _we_ planned the wedding."

"Except for the part where Oppy is trying to chase Fargo into the lake." Nathan said and Jack cursed under his breath and ran off to stop her from tasering the pest again. "Excuse us. Someone forgot he has a phone for the purpose of communicating and intends to just run himself into exhaustion instead."

"They're adorable." Lexi said as they both left to tend to whatever issue was unfolding. "Who's Oppy?"

"Opportunity, the Mars Rover." Zoe pointed to her as she zipped after Fargo with her Dad calling her to come back. "My robotic little sister who they let get away with _everything_."

"I forget you are an only child." Lexi smiled. "That's just how it goes with siblings."

"Really? I confronted her about her betting problem and she sends me a message that says 'My other sister's abandoned corpse is forgotten on Mars'." Zoe shook her head.

"That is _really_ what it's like to have a sibling." Lexi assured her. "Did you say 'her betting problem'?"

"She is horrible. She's been gambling to make money for a bunker extension so she can have an underground garage with a solarium and be 'part of the family'. She sold viewing rights to her OppyApp so the town can watch the Nathan/Jack reality show live. She's blackmailing me so I don't rat her out to Dad and she's hiding half of what she's taught herself from Nathan. She is hell on wheels."

"What exactly was she sent to Mars to do?" Lexi asked as she watched a awkward triangle golf cart chase a man across the grass.

"I'm cutting her some slack because she wasn't properly socialized. They gave her an AI and she only had her team at NASA to talk to. She learned how to play them too, her last message before he shut down on Mars was "My batteries are low and it's getting dark." It was enough to send Dad into a rescue mode and convince Nathan to make science fiction a reality and break a ton of laws, legal and physics wise." Zoe said and crossed her arms. "She's still adjusting socially. I'm trying to help her learn and she's absolutely devoted to Dad. Dad spoils her. They all do."

"I remember when someone else was an unruly teenager." Lexi raised her eyebrows at her niece.

"She's not quite that bad, yet." Zoe mumbled. Karma was a bitch though. "Dad however is really relieving his teenage years, maturity wise as well as dating wise."

"So, only six months and they're getting married already?" Lexi said as she took in the weird and happy life Jack and Zoe were living in this town, a life with a handsome genius and a pet Mars Rover.

"They have been flirting and going on save-the-world adventures for a year before that." Zoe shrugged. "It qualified as dating. Even if Nathan was still married at the time. Dad wasn't exaggerating when he said Nathan never left after that first weekend. He's not afraid to go after what he wants and Dad never got a chance to second guess any of it. They're good for each other. Dad's always been so reluctant to date again after Mom, he needed someone who wasn't going to give him a choice in the matter."

"Must have been weird for you."

"Not really." She admitted. "They're so happy together and their banter is like sketch comedy some days that you don't want to miss out on anything. Yeah, they've had arguments but it's not like it used to be with Mom and Dad. It's been good."

"Speaking of your Mom, how did she take this?"

"Let's just say there are parental controls in my house preventing Nathan from _ever_ answering the phone again when Mom calls." Zoe huffed and shook her head. "You know how she gets, psycho-analyses everything and Oppy isn't the only one protective of Dad."

"Really." Lexi said somewhat satisfied with the knowledge that someone finally lit into Abby on Jack's behalf. Not that her brother was incapable of holding his own with his ex, but she always brought her professional opinion into her remarks to get the edge on him. Opinions that cut deep.

"Yeah, it was epic." Zoe said. "I shouldn't say that because it's Mom, but she had it coming and Nathan played her game way better than she ever did. She was speechless when we finally got the phone away from him."

"Wow." Lexi said with a smile that was genuine. Her brother finally managed to get the life he deserved. Zoe seemed so happy now and a different person from the troubled girl she knew. Nathan was pretty amazing and Jack was happy enough he was getting married so soon after starting a relationship. She was sure her brother had a ton of baggage from his first marriage, that took a lot to override. "So what does your house look like that he's given up the one I'm staying in?"

"Our house is a bunker, literally. A renovated World War Two era bunker. Our house is also an AI , named S.A.R.A.H. and will not handle her family moving out very well. Nathan tried to convince her to let him move her systems into his home, but she's afraid that being retrofit into another house will end up with her being modified in some way shape or form. He offered to build a new house, which ended up with an argument about why he doesn't think she's adequate. Right now, Dad, Oppy and S.A.R.A.H. are all lobbying to have the bunker remodeled."

"His house is _really_ nice."

"He's wearing a suit that cost more than Dad's monthly salary." Zoe explained. "And Dad's wearing the same one he wore to grandma's funeral. They're on opposite ends of the spectrum where 'Maslow's basic needs' are concerned. Polar opposites on a lot of things, but they recognize that and help each other where the other lacks."

"So who's going to win, on the house thing?"

"Nathan." Zoe said without a doubt. "He's head of GD, he can't be living in the bunker without taking a status hit in the eyes of the people he has to deal with on a daily basis. Dad makes do, Nathan makes it better. I'm sure he's got something in the works, he's been kinda quiet about the housing situation the last month or so."

"Let me guess, Jack is oblivious."

"Of course."

* * *

Nathan walked over to Henry as Jack continued to run after the speedy little rover as she drove Fargo away like a stockyard hand with a cattle prod. "So how much of this is your upgrades?"

"I just put the equipment on, you're the AI guy." Henry replied and laughed as Fargo made it to the boat dock where Oppy couldn't fit. "I didn't give her a taser if that's what you're asking."

"Zoe's covering for her." Nathan said. "I didn't say anything because she's helping her learn. Kevin, however, just grinned when I asked if he was working on her."

"Quite the family you have now, Nathan."

"Oppy's become a manipulate little shit." Nathan mumbled. "I was hoping you could keep her in your shop while we're on our honeymoon."

"Afraid she will miss her parents enough to cause problems?"

"I found the architectural plans and surveys for the new bunker extension buried on the intranet." Nathan said. "Along with work orders with my electronic signature. None of them for the actual house I am building."

"Teenagers." Henry said with a chuckle. "Good thing you went old school and kept your plans paper-only."

"I would really prefer to not have a new garage when I get home." Nathan replied. "Especially since she's going to start digging into Eureka's old tunnels and I don't want to disturb some hidden disaster next to the house who has abandonment issues. Last thing I need is a new missile crisis because I'm a year away from getting another Nobel that Jack will undoubtedly need in order to convince Dr. Thatcher to shutdown whatever is poised to start World War 3 again."

"I can keep her occupied for a week." Henry assured him. "I think she'll be happy to spend some down time making the wedding video in anticipation of your return."

"Why is my teenage Mars Rover making my wedding video?"

"Because Jack had me install a video capable camera on her so she could be photographer _and_ videographer."

"Of course he did." Nathan huffed. "It's bad enough the aisle has to be extra wide to accommodate her."

"She made the play-list for the reception, didn't she?" Henry asked knowing she did.

"I let Zoe handle the music with clear instructions to not allow Jack a chance to embarrass himself." Nathan gritted his teeth. "So help me God, if he has a reason to dance to the Macarena both of those kids are living outside or in the crater Oppy plans to excavate for her new room."

"Only in Eureka." Henry laughed.

"Speaking of embarrassing himself, did you talk to Jack about scratching 'read vows' off the agenda for tonight?" Nathan asked.

"Yes, he revised it with "Say 'Read Vows' and then leave vows a surprise for everyone"." Henry laughed harder and slapped his friend's shoulder before going to the podium to prepare for the rehearsal. He was surprised that Nathan allowed anyone else control over the wedding, he clearly wanted it to be tailored towards Jack's tastes too. This however, was grating on his nerves.

Nathan walked over to the dock as Jack tried to lecture his little deputy. The "sad red" lights were flashing and he knew she was trying to apologize.

"Oppy, stop taking pictures and listen to me." Jack instructed as he heard the clicking sounds that said she was not going to miss the opportunity to take as many photos of them as possible. No matter how pissed off Nathan had to look right now.

"For god's sake, we already programmed her to..." Nathan got a slap to the stomach before Jack bent down to look Oppy in the "eyes"

"This is very important and you need to focus on your mission, which is ring-bearer."

"I can't believe I'm marrying you." Nathan drawled.

"Nathan, not in front of the kid."

"I'm sorry, who insisted Henry install a video camera so she can film our wedding?"

"She brought us together and will be a part of our wedding so stop being an ass or I let her trash your house." Jack threatened.

"Not in the programming."

"Neither was the Taser!"

"Well after tomorrow, your house is _my _house." Nathan said and bent down to look at Oppy and smiled at her. "So if _you_ trash the yard by following through with your renovation plans while we are gone, you will lose your internet and WiFi privileges young lady. Do I make myself clear?"

Sad red lights flickered.

"Good." Nathan said. "Because the plans for Camp Eureka are old enough that they are stored in the library at GD, _if_ there were plans for the bunker systems that were retained for recording purposes and not redacted for security purposes. If we have to come home early from our honeymoon because you trigger a Cold War era defense system, you can forget about hiding your AI advancements from me because you're going to get reset. Do you want to go back to looking for water or do you want to awkwardly carry our rings down the aisle and be part of this family?"

"Nathan..." Jack whined as Oppy's sad lights started blinking like a warning alarm. Nathan flashed him a look that said he was serious about this. He begrudgingly went into parent mode. "Opportunity Rover Carter, you better listen to your Dad because I can't have a deputy that goes around causing the problems in town. That includes police brutality when you Taser Fargo without just cause. "

Oppy went to blinking a dim sad red light.

"Are we understood?" Nathan asked and got a green light then pulled a bag out of his pocket that would carry the rings into her 'hand' tomorrow. For now, it contained washers from Henry's shop, he needed to make sure she stayed on task before he gave her the real ones. "Refer to your program on the course you are to take, the timing and the speed. Execute it without distraction, that includes your amateur filmmaker 'visions'."

Green lights flashed and Oppy turned and went back to the ceremony as Jack waited for Nathan to stand up so he could give him 'the look'. "Really?"

"Have you learned _nothing_ about Eureka?" Nathan asked. "Do you want to encourage any chance for some disaster to ruin our wedding day?"

"Well no..." Jack said and then Nathan kissed him.

"Good. So tell me that you wrote your vows and you're not just going to 'wing it' tomorrow." Nathan asked and saw a grin spread over Jack's face that was a resounding 'no'. "There will be no 'I do over', please reconsider."

"Really struggling with that lack of control, huh?" Jack winked. "Guess you better show up to the wedding and find out what I'm going to say."

"You really think this is funny?"

"Yeah." Jack nodded.

"You're trying to convince me to not go home alone tonight." Nathan snorted and shook his head. "Nice try. No, you don't get to see me in my tux before the wedding. Maybe _you_ should should show up tomorrow and find out exactly how good I look in it."

Jack chuckled and leaned over and kissed him. "Oh, _I know_ you'll look good. Kinda worried I might have a hard time keeping my mind on the right thoughts when it comes time to make up my vows."

"You're still sleeping alone tonight." Nathan growled and stalked off to the rehearsal before he changed his mind.

"Come on, it's not like we're first time grooms!" Jack snorted in amusement, he hadn't slept alone in months and he was pretty aware that doing so tonight was going to get exactly the reaction Nathan was looking for; the excitement for the wedding day that only anticipation could bring. He smiled and watched Nathan stride back over to the wedding party, having to ease his mind that everything was in order and would be flawless. He knew it would be because there wasn't much this universe could throw at them that they couldn't handle together.

And the wedding was absolutely flawless, expect for the minor delay when Nathan lost his composure because of Jack's vows.

* * *

AN: So this story is finally complete! I was really wrong on my estimate on how long this would be, the characters took over. Thank you for reading! Please review or comment if you enjoyed it, that's how I get more ideas for starting stories that I don't have the time to write.


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